


Hermione Granger and the Foreigner  Grandmother

by Swanqueer



Series: Hermione Granger [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, F/F, Gryffindor, Other, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Triwizard Tournament, Veela Hermione Granger
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2020-12-31 02:11:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21045686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swanqueer/pseuds/Swanqueer
Summary: Hermione Granger knew she was special since she was just a toddler. Her parents always reminded her of that, but it wasn't until a very pretty lady came to her parents house claiming to be her grandmother that she realised just how special she truly was.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> The first part of this series will be foucused on Hermione Pre-Hogwarts. Most of the chapters of this part will be gilmpses of her life growing up.  
Let me know what you think!

* * *

**Wednesday, 19 September 1979.**

A baby cry could be heard in the hospital room, followed quickly by a mother’s plea “my baby girl, let me hold my baby girl”.

Amelia Parker, the nurse who auxiliated in the delivery smiled at the young couple, the father seemed frozen in shock, looking at the bundle in her arms like it held the answer to all the question in the world, meanwhile the mother, who could barely keep her eyes open after the effort it took to give birth to someone, was mumbling, asking for her baby, anxiously waiting for the chance to hold her for the first time.

“Would you like to do the honors?” Nurse Parker asked Robert Granger, the father of the crying baby in her arms, wanting him to be the one to hand the little girl over to the mother. For a few seconds Robert stood there, unmoving and she briefly considered asking for a doctor in case he passed out, after all it wouldn’t be the first time a father passed out after watching the birth of his first born, but, before she got a chance call for help, his face was consumed by the biggest smile she have ever seen, showing his slightly too big front teeth.

“Yes, yes! I would love to!” Exclaimed Mr. Granger taking his daughter into his arms, excitedly. “Hello, Princess, I’m your daddy” was whispered into his baby’s hair followed by a soft kiss to her forehead, before he was handing her to her mother, with a loving smile.

The moment Jean Granger took her daughter into her arms, the little girl stopped crying. The sort of all consuming love she felt at the moment, looking at her baby took her breath away. She didn’t know it was possible to love someone quite so much, but here she was, looking into her baby’s big, brown eyes and thinking about how she was the luckiest person in the world to be holding something so special in her arms.

Following her husband example she decided to introduce herself “Hi, Hermione, I’m mommy, I’m really excited to finally meet you”.

“Hermione, huh? I guess we finally have a name” said Robert, still smiling at his girls. To which his wife just nodded and smiled back.

“I like it, it suits her. A strong name, for a strong girl!” Said Nurse Parker. The couple looked at her startled, between the excitement of holding their daughter for the first time and having finally picked a name for her they had completely forgotten about the nurse’s presence, she seemed to realise this and chuckled at the happy new parents. “Well, I’ll be at the front desk in case you need anything”. The last thing the nurse thought before leaving the room was ‘That is one lucky girl with such loving parents’.

As soon as she left, the couple went back to looking at each other and their daughter with nothing but love in their eyes.

That same day, when cleared from the hospital Hermione Jean Granger went home with two loving parents, who couldn’t be prouder of the little girl they now could call their own.

* * *

**Thursday, 23 october 1980.**

A toddler with brown eyes could be seen playing with her toys in her playpen in a living room, her parents were just in the next room getting dinner ready together, a tradition they didn’t let up after the birth of their only child. Every now and then the child would hear her mummy and daddy giggle and a content smile was constantly plastered on her little face, but after over 30 minutes of playing with her firetruck and her dolls she grew tired of her toys. Throwing everything to the side Hermione pouted, she wanted her parents, she was tired of playing!

Just before she started screaming for her mommy and daddy, something caught her eye: it was the colourful book her mommy was reading her just the night before. She looked longingly at it, she really wanted it right now, it didn’t even occur to the child that she couldn’t read and thereafter the book would be useless to her, she just needed it!

The child was so lost in thought, she didn’t see the book flying straight into her hand from the bookshelf, but as soon as she felt the pressure in her hand and took in the book she giggled happily and started flipping through the colorful pages without a care in the world.

That’s how Robert found her a few minutes later when he came to collect her for dinner, laughing at the pictures in the book with a happy look on her adorable face. He smiled, shook his head and picked her up in his arms. “Hey, Princess, did Mommy let you keep your book?” he asked, knowing his daughter wouldn’t answer, but trying to be the one who got her to say her first word anyway.

Hermione just shook her head from side to side, smiling and pointing to the book her father left behind in the playpen she said “Book, book!”

Her daddy just froze then, looking at his daughter with wide eyes he exclaimed “you… You just said your first word! JEAN! JEAN! Come here!”

Hermione just looked at her daddy frustrated, she wanted her book but he wouldn’t get it for her! “book!” she repeated.

That was the moment her mummy bursted into the room, looking flushed and worried, until she heard the word coming out of her daughters mouth. “Mon Dieu! She is, she is talking! Oh, darling…” said her mum rushing to their side with tears in her eyes.

She took her daughter from her husband's arms and started pampering her with kisses, “Can you say Mummy? huh, can you say mummy to me love?”.

Hermione just looked unimpressed, or as unimpressed as a 1-year-old could possibly look, and repeated “book!”.

Robert concealed a laugh at that, Mione was totally a daddy’s girl, he thought proudly and even if her first word was not daddy, it was still directed at him.With that thought in mind and wanting braggin rights with his wife (who said you have to be mature in order to raise a child?) he asked his daughter “what about daddy, Mione? Can you say daddy?”.

For her part Hermione just kept pouting and repeated “Book! Book! Book!”.

Jean didn’t even try to conceal her laughter at that, she knew what her husband was trying to do, they were together since college after all. She looked at him smugly ready to start needling him, for her husband needed to be taken down a few pegs since he was always bragging about how much of a daddy’s girl their daughter was, but before she had a chance she saw something flying from the playpen and straight into her daughter’s hand. Both mother and father looked frightened at the object in their baby’s hand before sharing a glance of absolute horror between them, but for two different reasons.

While Mr. Granger’s thoughts were along the lines of “Bloody Hell! How did that happened? Is the house possessed?”, Mrs. Grangers thoughts were more along the lines of “no, no, no, you’re not supposed to go through that!”.

Oblivious to her parents panicked state Hermione just shoved the book in their directions and said “Book!” happily, expecting her parents to be proud of her for her newfound ability


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione’s first day of school, 5th birthday and some father-daughter bonding time!
> 
> Let me know what you think!

* * *

**Monday, 06 September 1982**

Today was an exiting day for Hermione Granger, it was the day she was finally going to start school.

Well, pre-school but still! The point remains she was excited, her mummy and daddy told her all about school: how there were going to be tons of books, how the teachers were going to help her improve her reading (as of this summer Hermione had started to read small texts on her own and her parents couldn’t be prouder of their little genius) and how she was going to meet tons of children who were just like her to play and, most importantly, learn with!

For the past few months, all the child seemed talk about was school and how happy she was to be going in the fall and now the day has finally arrived she couldn’t seem to stay still.

“Are you almost finished, mommy?” Asked the overexcited toddler. All she wanted was to finish getting ready, so she could eat the breakfast her daddy was making downstairs and finally, _finally_, go to school.

“Hermione, dear, I will finish with your hair way faster if you just stop moving around” said her mommy fondly, she has been trying to put her hair in pigtails for a while now but every time Hermione would start squirming and end up messing the hairstyle.  
“Sowy, mommy” Said the toddler “just huwy please, I don’t wanna be late!“

Her mum just shook her head fondly. “You won’t be late, we still have plenty of time, okay?” She told her baby girl, and waited for her to nod and settle a bit before continuing to get her ready.

After a few more minutes, thankfully this time with Hermione cooperation, they were finally ready to go downstairs.

“There, we are all finished. Ready for breakfast? A little bird told me daddy is making your favorite today” said Jean.

“Really?” Asked Hermione with a smile lighting up her face.

“Yup!” Assured her mum. “Now, come on, let’s go downstairs”.

Jean took her daughter into her arms and made to start walking when Hermione talked again.

“Mommy, you’re not s’posed to carry me anymore. I’m a big girl now I’m going to school and everything, I hafto do things on my own!”

Her mum for her part didn’t know wether to laugh or cry. Laugh because leave it to Hermione to find a way to mention school in every phrase, and cry because her daughter had a point she was growing up, starting school and everything, soon enough she wouldn’t even be able to carry her anymore. Not being able to decide which reaction, Jean just gave a laugh away, while blinking fast to try and suppress her tears.

“I know you are a big girl now, honey, but mommy likes carrying you, besides even big girls need help every now and then” she told Hermione softly, still holding her in her arms but not moving towards the stairs either, just in case her child decided to indeed walk downstairs by herself. Her daughter seemed to be thinking hard about what she was told, with her brows furrowed and her tongue peeking out of her lips.  
“M’kay, I like when you and daddy carry me too” Hermione decided at last, and nuzzling her face into her mum’s neck she waited to be taken to the dining room.

When mother and daughter arrived, Robert was already finished making and plating their breakfast. Smiling softly at his little family he asked “So, who is excited about starting school today?!”.

That was all it took for Hermione to launch into a monologue about all the things she wanted to see and learn today at pre-school. Both parents shared a fond look over her head, before Mrs. Granger placed her in her highchair, with her food and training silverware in front of her.

That was how the Grangers started their morning, listening to their baby girl happy mumbling about finally starting her studies.

* * *

**Wednesday, 19 September 1984**

Hermione was turning five today and she couldn’t be more overwhelmed.

The day started good, great even! Her parents brought her breakfast in bed, followed by presents (she got books and a stuffed snake from her daddy and books and a pretty, red sweater from her mommy), then they rescheduled some appointments at their new dentistry practice so they could both walk her to school.

School was great as usual, she answered questions in class and ate lunch at the library with her best friend, a skinny boy named Josh who usually got picked on by the biggest meanest children (their friendship started the day Hermione saw him being bullied by some older kids and threatened to call a teacher on then, ever since he became her shadow, following her wherever she went).

The problems only started a little after she got back home. Since her birthday fell on a school day and it was still warm enough, her parents came up with the idea of throwing her a pool party at their house after class, and suggested she invited all of her classmates, the entire family (her grandparents and a great uncle on her daddy’s side) and the neighbors to it. And that’s exactly where the problem laid: Even as a child Hermione didn’t consider herself a particularly sociable individual, or at least she didn’t enjoy spending too much of her time with children her age, they were just so loud and messy and most of them didn’t really care for books and learning!  
Now, she was getting out of the pool while Josh and some other children stayed and played with a volleyball in it. Her best friend gave her a questioning look but she just shook her head, letting him know he didn’t need to leave too, while playing had been fun in the beginning, she was starting to feel overwhelmed and all she wanted right now was to hide somewhere quiet and open the books she got from her family and most of her acquaintances.

She went to the reclined chair where her towel was neatly folded and started drying herself, all the time thinking about how she wanted to be somewhere silent with her precious books.

When she finished drying her face and opened her eyes she was no longer in her backyard by the reclined chair, but in her silent room where all of the gifts she got were laying, books included. She blinked again not believing her eyes, but when she opened them again she was still in her room and a smile started spreading slowly but surely on her face. She knew she could make things happen sometimes, but she didn’t know she could _teleport_!

Happy about the new discover Hermione all but skipped to the gift pile and grabbed the first book she saw before throwing herself at her bed to read.

About 30 minutes into her reading her mother opened the door and popped her head inside.

“Oh, there you are!” Her mum exclaimed sounding relieved “We were looking everywhere for you, love”.

“Sorry, mommy, it was just too noisy” she explained scrunching up her nose.

Jean just smiled softly, she knew her daughter was special, that she preferred a good book over hanging out all afternoon with a bunch of children and she was very proud of her little genius for her focus and thirst of knowledge but... If she was being honest to herself she still worried about her sometimes, and she knew her husband shared the feeling, after all they didn’t want their daughter to spend her entire life with her nose deep inside a book, never experiencing in real life the great things she read about. It was actually the main reason they suggested inviting her whole class to the party, so Hermione could try and make more friends because no matter how much they loved Josh, a little girl needed more than just one friend her age in her life.

“Mommy?” Came Hermione soft voice, interrupting Jean’s train of thought. “I’m sorry I left... Are you mad?”

“Of course not, love! I could never be mad at my favorite daughter” she answered smiling.

“Mommy, I’m you only daughter!” Hermione exclaimed laughing.

“Hm, is that so?” She asked with a fake look of confusion.

“Uh huh! Just me!” Hermione answered, still laughing at her mommy silliness.

“Okay, if you say so...” she joined into her daughter giggles.

“How did you get here anyway, princess? Great Uncle Kevin was in the living room and he told me he didn’t see you heading up here” Jean asked as an afterthought. “That’s why daddy and I were worried when we couldn’t find you downstairs”.  
“Mommy, it was so cool! I was by the chairs and then I didn’t want to be there anymore ‘cause of the noises and the running and everything and then I blinked and when I opened my eyes I was here!” Hermione gushed in one breath, smiling proudly at her mum.

Her mum, for her part just sighed, by now she’ve got used to the fact that her daughter was a... well, that her daughter was even more special than she had originally thought, but she still wasn’t happy about it.

Regardless, her baby didn’t need to know about her _mixed_ feelings towards her abilities and so after a few seconds of complete silence in the room she plastered the most convincing smile she could muster in her face.

“That’s great, princess! I’m very proud of you! But remember, we don’t do certain things in front of people okay? You don’t want them to be jealous of how cool you are” She said winking at her child, because while she worried about what other people might do if they saw her daughter’s abilities, she refused to make her daughters feel scared or ashamed of who she was and this was the most kid friendly way she and her husband found to ensure Hermione didn’t get in trouble because of her... tendencies.

“I know, mommy, but... I couldn’t really control today, I didn’t mean for it to happen it just did, I swear!” Hermione told her mum with a sad pout in her face, she just hated disappointing her parents.

“No, none of that sad face, Mione. Sometimes things happen out of our control and thats okay! It’s nothing to be ashamed of, alright?” Her mum reassured her.

“‘Kay” was the only answer she got, but at least her daughter wasn’t pouting anymore.

“How about we go back to the party now?” She suggested. “If you feel overwhelmed again just let me or daddy know and we will help you”.

“... Only if you carry me downstairs” Hermione said with a mischievous smile.

“Of course! Up you go, M’Lady” Jean said with a smile, amused by her daughter antics.

After getting back to the party and letting her daddy know she was okay, Hermione went back to playing with the other children. She was feeling a little less overwhelmed now that she knew she was under the watchful eyes of her parents, who promised to step in at the first sign of discomfort.

Meanwhile her parents were indeed carefully watching her across the backyard, making sure she was actually comfortable with everything that was going on.

After a few moments of looking at their little girl in silence together, Jean started talking.

“Robert?” Jean said softly, getting her husband’s attention.

“Yes, dear?” He asked.

“Maybe from now on we should let Hermione decide who she wants to invite for her parties” She told him seriously, but softly not wanting him to feel like he was being accused. “Jean, we didn’t force her to invite anyone, we just suggested-“ he started.

“Exactly, we suggested! Mione is a very smart girl, love, she can figure out on her own who she wants in her parties” She informed him. “Besides let’s be real right now, do you think she invited all of those children because she wanted to, or because she didn’t want to disappoint us?”

“I guess I get you point” Robert sighed “I just wish she would make more friends, you know? There is nothing wrong with being smart or a bookworm, but she could be those things and still have a few more friends”.

“I know you worry, honey, I worry too, but we just can’t make friends for her. Besides quality stands over quantity anytime, instead of making her feel like she has to have as many friends as possible we should just, I don’t know try to show her she is loved just the way she is by the people that matter” His wife said.

”You know, you are really smart, I can see who our daughters took after with her genius tendencies... But thankfully she got her adorableness from me, with your brain and my looks our baby is going to take over the world.” He joked weakly trying to bring humor into the conversation.

“As if! I’m cute and smart, she totally got both of those traits from me. And you, Mr, totally got lucky when you married me! I’ve got the _whole_ package” She joked right back.

“You are right, I definitely got lucky” He said with a content smile while putting his arm around his wife middle and pulling her close. “I’ve got everything anyone could possibly ask for”.

* * *

**Sunday, 07 April 1985**

Hermione and her dad were standing in line, waiting for their turn to buy their tickets to the cinema.

“So, Princess, which movie do you want to watch?” Asked Robert, smiling down at his daughter. “They have Back to the Future, The Goonies and a Sleeping Beauty reprise” He listed the children friendly movies in exhibition.

“Hum, dunno, what is Back to the Future about?” She wondered.

“It’s about a boy who accidentally throws himself back in time and has to find a way to get back to _his_ time” He explained, after quickly reading the pamphlet he was given at the beginning of the line with the time and synopsis os each movie.

“Ooh, I wanna watch it!” Hermione exclaimed.

“Back to the Future it is, then!” Said Mr. Granger.

After they decided which movie they were going to watch, father and daughter started talking about anything and everything under the sun: from how their week was going, to new books they were reading, to what Hermione wanted to be when she grew up, to difficult patients Robert had to deal with at the clinic this week. All the while both had looks of happiness on their faces that made many pass-biers smiling softly at the adorable little family.

Father-daughter bonding time, mother-daughter bonding time and family nights were things taken very seriously on the Granger household, as doctors they both knew how having caring and present parents helped in a child’s development, besides they both loved spending time with their little girl and those bonding moments were just one more excuse to hang out with her outside of the house.

After waiting for a bit more, after all on Sunday’s the cinema tended to get a bit crowded, it was finally their turn to get their tickets.

“Hullo, my name is Peter. How may I help you today?” Asked the working young teenager boy.

“Hello, Peter, I’m Hermione Granger and this is my Daddy. We would like tickets to Back to the Future, please” said Hermione politely.

“Well, nice to meet you, Hermione and Hermione’s daddy” after that the boy hesitated, for a second not wanting to be the one to give bad news to the adorable little girl whose head barely reached the counter. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news though, Back to the Future is already sold out for today”. He finished apologetically.

Hermione immediately started pouting and looked at her daddy and Robert sighed, his daughter’s pout was his weakness.

“Sorry, Princess, but there is nothing we can do about it. How about we watch something eles today and then we can come back another time with mommy and watch Back to the Future together, huh?” He asked trying to bring back the smile to his girl face.

“But I wanted to watch Back to the Future today!” She whined.

Feeling a temper tantrum on the way Mr. Granger got to his knees in front of his daughter and shot a apologetic look to those behind them on the line.

It was rare for Hermione to act out as she was usually a very mature and well behaved child, but every now and then her “only child tendencies”, as her dad started calling it in his head, got the best of her.

“Hermione, darling, I know you are frustrated but there is no need to talk in that tone. We can either watch some other movie and come back another day for Back to the Future or we can go back home and do something else together. What is going to be, Mione?” He asked patiently, but stern.

“.... We can watch something else” She relented, flushing a little at her daddy tone, she didn’t like when he talked to her like that.

”Okay, good!” He gave her a small smile, which she returned. “What do you want to watch now?”

“I don’t know, you pick” she deflected.

“Hm, alright” he said looking at the time table for the movies. “How about the Sleeping Beauty? It starts in 30 minutes, enough time to buy popcorn.”  
“Okay!” answered Hermione, her exited smile returning.  
Looking at the teenager boy who was patiently waiting for father and daughter to finish their conversation Robert said “Sorry for holding back the line. We would like to get two tickets for The Sleeping Beauty movie that starts in 30 minutes please”.

“No problem, Sir!” Said Peter brushing off the apology, “Here are your tickets, enjoy it!”

“Thank you” answered father and child in unison.

A couple of hours later Robert and Hermione left the theater, with Hermione uncharacteristically quiet. They walked all the way to the food court, got themselves some food and found a table with barely any word from the girl.

“So, did you enjoy the movie, Princess?” He asked trying to engage his daughter in conversation, normally by now she would be giving her opinion about every little aspect of the movie.

Hermione just scrunched her brows and looked at her father with an unsettled expression.

“I don’t want to be a princess anymore, Daddy, I want to be a prince!” She said finally.

“Uh... what?” Her father asked, shocked.

“Princess are lame! I don’t wanna spend my life sleeping in a tower waiting for some prince to save me!” She exclaimed, she used to love when her parents called her princess, and she even enjoyed listening to them reading her those stories every now and then before bedtime, but... she didn’t like the idea of being defenseless and if in order to be a princess she need to be saved by a prince, well, then she didn’t want to be one after all.

“Princ- er, Mione, being a princess don’t mean needing someone to save you, besides there is nothing wrong with needing help every once in a while” he explained, but when he saw the rather unconvinced look his daughter gave him he sighed and continued “You can be anything you want, baby. If you want to be a Warrior Princess me and your mum will support you, same as if you want to be an astronaut, a teacher, hell even the minister of england! We will support you no matter what, because we believe in you, okay? You don’t need to be a boy in order to be great and everyone who tells you otherwise will have to deal with me!”

She nodded her head and giggled at the idea of her daddy “dealing” with anyone, between him and her mum, he was definitely the calmer one.

“And if I need you, you and mommy will help me right? No matter how big I get or what I want to be when I grow up” she asked just to make sure, while she didn’t need some prince she was always going to need her parents.

“That’s right, Mione, you can always count on us!” He reassured her smiling. “So can I still call you my princess?”

“I guess,” She answered “but I don’t want to be a real princess anymore”.  
“Okay, how about I call you ‘Hermione the Dragon Slayer’ from now on, huh?” He joked.

”Daddy, no! I don’t want to hurt dragons, they are so pretty” she exclaimed.

“Pretty? Well, if you say so...” He chuckled a bit. “What if I call you...”

And thats how they spent their lunch, eating and going back and forth trying to find a new nickname to Hermione, laughing at the worst ones and just enjoying each other’s company.

That night, when Robert laid in bed with his wife he told her all about Hermione’s newfound aversion to princesses.

After he finished retelling the conversation he had with their daughter earlier that day, his wife’s only answer was “You handled it well, love, and you were right in telling her she can do anything she wants, because she can! Our girl is going to change the world someday”.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione’s summer vacation and more!  
Let me know what you think!

* * *

**Monday, 15 July 1985 **

Summer vacation had arrived and unlikely most children, Hermione wasn’t particularly thrilled about it. She genuinely enjoyed going school and learning new things!

The only reason she didn’t completely hate summer was that her parents house was rather close to their villa library and she would spent most days of her vacation there when her parents were working. She spent so much of her time there in fact that the clerks already knew her and would often select a few books they thought she would like and hand it her in the mornings when she arrived.

Today, like most days since her break started her parents dropped her off at the library, after eating breakfast. Since they lived in a private villa and knew all of their neighbors and the clerks working at the library, Hermione’s parents weren’t too worried about letting their 5-years-old (almost 6! She would often remind them) spend some of her time in there alone. Besides Claire, Hermione’s nanny, usually went to the library to check on the girl and drag her out to eat a few times a day.

Walking their daughter up the stairs of the small library they started their usual safety talk.

“If a stranger talk to you, don’t answer! Go to a grown up you trust and ask for help.” Her mum started.

“And ask someone to call us right away if you need us.” Her dad continued.

“Don’t forget: our house is just down the street and if Claire isn’t here with you, she is going to be there. If you need her just go walk down the street straight home, okay?” Her mum went again.

“But unless it’s an emergency don’t go walking home by yourself. Wait until Claire, mommy or I come and get you.” Her daddy ordered.

“And if it is an emergency, please go by the sidewalks!” Her mom completed.

It looked like her parents were going to say more, but Hermione interrupted them before they spent the entire morning giving her instructions and ended up being late for work (it happened before).

“Mommy, Daddy,_ I know_. I’m not going to do anything wrong and I’ll be careful! And before you ask, yes, I still remember your number.” She added cheekily.

“Okay, okay, we get it, ma Chèrie. We will leave you to your books now.” Jean said.

“Right... Bye, Mione. We love you, see you later, okay?” added Robert, before he and his wife hugged their daughter and started heading for the car.

“Okay, bye! Love you too!” Hermione said and headed inside the library, ready for an exiting day of reading!

Inside she was greeted by Mr. Hudson, an elderly man, whose passion for books rivaled Hermione’s.

“Good morning, Ms. Granger. How are we on this lovely day” he asked.

“Hi, Mr. Hudson, I’m great! Today I had mickey mouse shaped pancakes for breakfast.” The girl answered. “Oh! And I have the books I borrowed last week here, to return”.

“Good, good. Just place them here on the counter and I will check them in” he said kindly. “What are you in the mood for today?”

“Hum... I want to read about the ocean! Josh’s birthday theme is ‘Under the Sea’ and I don’t really know much about it” she informed him thoughtfully.

“Alright, I’m sure we have something about fish around here. How about I help you look?” Mr. Hudson offered.

“Okay, Thank you!” Hermione said gratefully.

And then both went deeper inside the library, searching for a book that caught both their attention.

Not too long after they started their research Hermione already had a pile of four different books to read, and so Mr. Hudson suggested she tried learning through them first and if they were unsatisfactory they would look for more books. Nodding her consent, the girl headed for a secluded table on the back of the library and the kind old man went back to the counter to wait for any other customer who might choose to come by today.

About a hour after she got to the library Claire arrived to check on her. Once she made sure the girl was fine, safe and not hungry she left, promising to be back soon.

And so Hermione spent most of the morning and a good portion of the afternoon reading about the ocean and different species of fish unbothered. She only stoped when her nanny came to check on her and when she had to leave to eat lunch with Claire and her parents, but save from that she read without a care in the world for most of the day.

All in all, everything was perfect until a group of teenagers arrived at the library and started making noise with their loud talking and chair pushing.

At first Hermione thought they would stop making so much noise after they picked their books and started reading, but after a little while it became clear the teens had no intentions of settling down with a book and just enjoy the silence.

‘_Even after Mr. Hudson went by their desk to ask them to be silent, they just kept being talking loudly!_’ Hermione thought indignantly.

She glared in the general direction of where she assumed the teen were, even if she couldn’t see them from her table and gave a defeated sigh. She just couldn’t focus with so much noise!

And then she had an idea... Her parents always told her not to use her abilities in front of other people, but if she did it right now no one would see her! So that wouldn’t be bad right? She wouldn’t be disobeying her parents as long as none of the teens or Mr. Hudson saw her.

With that thought in mind Hermione started focusing with all her might. Usually she only managed to make things happen by accident: whenever she was sad, angry, scared, annoyed or even happy strange things just seemed to happen around her. But she was decided and when Hermione Granger put her mind on something she got it!

‘_Silence, silence, I just want some silence and peace so I can read!_’ She chanted inside her head and kept her eyes close until something happened: she could no longer hear any noises!

For a second she was worried, thinking she might have accidentally lost her hearing altogether, but when she snapped her fingers and heard the noise it made clearly she let out a breath of relief.

Getting up from her chair Hermione walked around her table, she couldn’t hear a thing save from her own footsteps! Walking two steps from her table, she heard a pop and then the teen’s loud voices came back full force. When she returned to her seat all the noise from outside of her safety bubble ceased again.

With a self satisfied smile Hermione went back to her books.

* * *

**Thursday, 5 June 1986 **

Having two doctors for parents meant Hermione always had to chose at least one physical activity to engage in: from dancing, to football, to swimming, it didn’t really matter as long as she was doing something instead of spending her days sitting around reading.

Alas, being the overachiever she was, Hermione decided she wanted to do ballet on Mondays and Wednesdays, swimming on Tuesdays and Thursdays and on Fridays she chose to have piano lesson.

When she came up with this schedule her parents were reasonably a little worried. It was after all a pretty tough schedule for a six-years-old, but Hermione was nothing if not a very convincing little girl and manage to make them see the bright side of the situation: she would exercise more, she would be at school which meant they didn’t have to worry about her safety and (this being the point that secretly sold the idea to them) she would be with other children her age as opposed to spend a good portion of the afternoon with her nanny until her parents came home from work.

As it was, Hermione’s currently in the indoors pool of her school, alongside a few other children her age, helping a girl who couldn’t seem to get the arm throw right patiently.

Their swimming instructor, Ms. Johnson, saw her perfecting the move earlier that lesson and asked her to help anyone who was having difficulties, and Hermione just loved helping so it was really no trouble.

Jean who arrived a few minutes ago was observing everything proudly, sometimes it felt like pride was the feeling she most associated with her daughter since her baby girl was born. Well, pride and love course.

Hermione chose that moment to look at the benches and an even bigger smile spread on her face at the sight of her mommy, she waved enthusiastically and waited until her mum smiled and waves back before going back to the task at hand of helping her teammate learn the move.

A little over 20 minutes later, after all of the children got today’s lesson, Ms. Johnson blew her whistle and ordered everyone out of the pool and into a circle.

“Today was great guys, you really outdid yourselves! I’m thinking about moving to the deep side of the pool next week, what do you say?” She asked and received a chorus of ‘yes!’ as an answer from her overexcited students. “That’s great, see you folks next week then, have a nice weekend!”

After that most of her students just waved their goodbyes absentmindedly and went running to their parents, probably to brag about the fact that next week they were going to swim in the deep end of the pool like the big kids.

The only exception was Hermione Granger, Ms. Johnson favorite student, not because she was a great swimmer, no, but because she was always willing to help her mates and seemed genuinely thrilled when by their success.

“Yes, Hermione?” She asked.

“I just wanted to wish you a good weekend too, Professor, and thank you for today’s lesson” she answered formally.

The girls antics never ceased to amuse the instructor, who chuckled softly at her.

“I told you, you don’t have to call me professor, Sweetie, I’m just an instructor. And thank you for helping me out in today’s lesson!” She said smiling. 

“But you teach me how to swim, that means that you are a professor, at least to me!” The girl said.

Ms. Johnson just shook her head fondly, the girl was as headstrong as she was polite and there was no convincing her she was wrong on this matter.

Seeing Hermione’s mother walking in their direction she smiled widely and beckoned her over.

“You know your daughter is too nice sometimes” she told Jean.

“Does she insists on calling you professor?” Asked Mrs. Granger looking fondly at her baby. “Of course I do! She is my professor, mommy” she exclaimed.

“You are right, Mione, she is” and shooting a wink at Ms. Jonhson she finished “You know, you should be flattered. In Hermione’s vocabulary being a teacher is the greatest honor someone can archive”

“Well, in that case...” she trailed off smiling right back at the cute family in front of her, until she saw the father of one her most problematic students waving at her and had to cut the conversation short “Sorry, ladies, but I have to go now. Send Mr. Granger my regards and see you next week!”

“Of course, dear, goodbye”

“Bye, Professor!”

Said mother and daughter respectively while Ms. Johnson waved at them and walked away.

“So did you like today’s lesson?” Jean asked her daughter.

“I loved it, mommy! Today I got to help Alice with her swimming and Ms. Johnson said I was a great assistant!” The girl gushed excitedly.

“Really?! That’s great, Baby, I’m proud of you!” she assured her daughter, leading her to the changing room to change out of her swimming suit so they could go home.

“Thanks, Mum!” She answered blushing happily under her mothers praise.

Hermione headed inside the changing room alone, she has been refusing her parents help changing for a while now. While seeing their little girl all independent made both parents nostalgic, they were still proud of their baby growth.

A few minutes later the girl was heading outside of the locker room wearing a Wonder-Woman graphic shirt and a princess skirt she got from her grandfather for Christmas last year, her wet swimming suit and towel inside her backpack. Her very purple backpack.

For her part, Jean was trying to control her laughter at the sight of her daughter wearing such contrasting colors and completely owning it, as if it was the most usual sight in the world seeing a child dressed as a princess-warrior-amazon-super-hero-school-girl.

When Hermione observed her mum’s purpling face, she instantly became worried.

“You okay, mommy?” She asked.

“Y-yes, I’m great, ma Belle, just admiring you outfit”. She choked out, she definitely didn’t think that when she and her husband started letting Hermione pack her school bag by herself this would be the result.

“Do you like it? I love this shirt and the skirt color is so pretty” The child said smiling.

“I love it, ma belle, you look amazing” she told her daughter o longer being able to conceal her smile at her daughter’s adorableness. “You look so good in fact we should take a picture when we get home!”

Hermione’s smile grew so big at that it hurt her cheeks, grabbing her mum’s hand she started dragging her towards the exit, maybe she and her daddy could get her mommy a shirt and skirt just like hers for her birthday, she would just _love_ it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Christmas fluff and revelations about Santa Claus.  
Let me know what you think! Also, my apologies in advance this chapter is way bigger than I intended :)

* * *

**Thursday, 25 December 1986**

The excited squealing of a child could be head cutting trough the otherwise silent morning.

“It’s Christmas!” The bushy haired girl exclaimed, jumping out of her bed and running towards her parents room.

Getting to their door she quickly knocked (she didn’t want to get a lecture on her manners on Christmas day, of all days) but didn’t wait for an answer before hurrying inside and jumping on the bed.

“Mum, Dad, it’s Christmas! Wake up, wake up, wake up” Hermione said, jumping up and down on her parents bed, joy clear on her face.

Robert was the first one to recover from the surprise attack coming in the form of their energetic daughter, and pulled the girl in his arms to stop the overexcited jumping.

“Calm down, Mione. The presents aren’t going anywhere” her dad chucked. “But I want to see if Santa got me all the books I asked!” Hermione whined. “Calm down, ma belle, I’m sure Santa didn’t forget anything” Jean reassured her daughter, sleepily.

“But, but-“ she started, sounding distressed about having to calm down when the gifts were just downstairs.

“How about you help us cooking breakfast then we can open all of our gifts together, huh?” Her mum asked.

“... Can we make chocolate chips pancakes, oatmeal, bacon and eggs?” The 7-years-old asked, her excitement returning at the thought of cooking her favorite breakfast with her parents.

“Sure thing, Mione. You can even have you favorite tea to go with breakfast. What do you say?” Her father asked.

“Okay” She squealed, getting out of his arms and jumping to the floor “Now, let’s go!”

Her parents shared a fond look before getting up from the bed and being all but dragged by their daughter down the stairs, still in their pajamas.

Once breakfast was prepared and eaten the small family head to their living room, where their Christmas tree laid, to open their presents. Organizing the gifts into three different piles, one for each member of the family, they sat in a circle on the floor.

“Who wants to start opening the gifts?” Her mother asked.

“Me!” Both father and daughter answered in unison.

Glaring at each other with calculating looks, waiting to see who would break first. Jean just sighed fondly at her family, every year was the same: Robert and Hermione would whine about who got to open the presents first. And every year Hermione would win, of course.

“We should open then in a chronologically progressive way.” Hermione said with finality in her tone. And that was exactly why she always won, she would say brainy things like ‘chronologically progressive’ and her dad would be just too baffled by the seven-years-old vocabulary to argue.

“Do you even know what that means?” Jean teased.

Robert snorted, knowing their daughter they were in for a lesson on etymology after that question.

“Of course, I do! It means we should open the gifts from the youngest to the eldest. Actually the dictionary define chronologically as-“ Hermione started.

“Okay, okay. We get it!” Her mum laughed.

“So you agree, right? We should open them in a chronologically progressive way?” The girl didn’t wait for her mother’s reply before continuing in one breath “Well, sorry, Daddy, but Maman is on my side in this. It’s two against one, we win!”

“Wha- noo, she didn’t even say anything!” Robert pouted.

“I don’t know, mon amour, I think Hermione’s idea is pretty good.” She smiled.

“Traitor!” Her husband gasped, at the same time her daughter squealed “yay, you are the best mommy!”

Now that the matter of who got to open the first present was settled, Hermione all but launched at the first item on her pile. It read:

‘_from: Daddy _

_to: The smartest girl in the world_’

Inside there was a collection of fantasy books she had been eyeing in the bookstore a few weeks ago, when she went with her dad to choose her mum’s gift. Hermione smiled and hushed into her dad’s arms thanking him.

After that she opened the rest of the gifts her dad got her (a new swimming suit, more books, a Wonder-Woman pajama, more books, a Incredible Hulk toothbrush and -_guess what?- _more books) and started on the presents her mother got her.

The fist one had a dedicatory on the wrapping:

‘_From: mommy. _

_To: Ma jolie fille_’

Hermione smiled at her mum before diving into the gifts.

The first one made her stop short, it was a dark colored stuffed snake. Hermione recently lost the old stuffed snake her dad had got her for her birthday a couple of years ago and since then could be seen around the house sadly pouting, terribly missing her favorite toy.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She repeated over and over, rushing in her Mum’s arms, snake tightly held in her left hand.

“You are welcome, Ma belle.” Jean said softly, happy to see the smile in her daughter’s face.

After thanking her mum profusely, she want back to opening her presents. From her Maman she got the snake, books, a music box that was also a jewelry box, more books and a expensive looking bracelet with a pretty crest she didn’t recognized (when she looked questing at her mom she just smiled mysteriously and helped her put ir on).

From Santa she got everything she asked for: many many books, a pair of rainbow colored boots, some stuffed toys, some board games, a few shirts and a new bright red backpack.

After that she only had a few presents left. Josh gave her a hand written book he made about a nerdy superhero who saved a boy from a super villain and became fast friends with him. Her grandfather got her a book about fishing, a fishing hat with a note promising to take her to the lake house in the summer and a chocolate bar (a rare treat when you have dentists parents). Her grandmother gave her a book about influential woman of the 20th century, a hand knitted beanie and 20 pounds.

Hermione finished opening her gifts and went to check on her parents’.

Her mum had gotten a golden watch from Robert, a blouse from her father-in-law, a knitted scarf to match Hermione’s beanie from her mother-in-law and a book about gardening and rare plants from Hermione which her mum thanked her profusely for. Her dad got a personalized motorcycle helmet from Jean, a fishing rod from his father, a knitted scarf same as his wife from his mother and a especial edition comic book from Hermione. A frown took over the girls face, something didn’t make sense about her parents presents... Every year, since she could remember Santa gave her parents something, yet this year there was not one single gift from him to her them. And her mum and dad were really good all year long so that hardly seemed fair!

“Why the long face, squirt?” Her dad asked.

“How come Santa didn’t give you anything?” Hermione asked instead of answering, looking worried.

Her dad just looked at her opening and closing his mouth not knowing how to answer to that, until he blurted out “Er, well- you see, uh, Santa doesn’t have the time to give grownups presents!” He seemed rather content with how he handled the situation, missing his wife’s exasperated look.

“What? Adults don’t get presents from Santa?! Why? You have been good this year, it doesn’t make sense! Does he not like grownups? Why did he chose this year to stop? Haven’t you and mum been adults from a while now?” Hermione fired question after question, looking at her parents of pitying.

Jean berated her and her husband forgetfulness in her head. Every year they got themselves something “from Santa”, but this year in midst of the preparations for Christmas they ended up forgetting and of course they insightful daughter would’ve noticed. Deciding it was time to take the reins of the situation, least her husband make their daughter start to hate Santa for his unfair treatment of adults. Jean started:

“Now, Hermione, that’s not what your dad meant at all! Santa likes adults as much as children, it’s just that this year Daddy and I forgot to write our letter letting him know what we wanted and when we remembered it was already too late.” She explained.

Hermione looked at her Father for confirmation and he added: “Yeah, Mione, thats exactly what I meant. And I’m sure Santa will make it up to us next year!”

“But, couldn’t he have gotten you two _anything_ this year?” The girl asked suspiciously.

“Well, he could but...” Robert looked at his wife for help.

“But,” she continued “we wrote him to tell he didn’t have to worry about us this year, we already have the best gift anyone could ever ask for right here”.

“What is it?” Hermione questioned.

“Why, it’s you, Ma belle” her mum said smiling down at her.

Hermione smiled softly at both parents at that, before looking down at the books Santa got her thoughtfully. Grabbing two of the books on the pile, she went to her parents.

“Here, you can have those” she handed them the books. “No one should be left out.”

“Mione, you don’t have to do that. We know how much you wanted each one of those books” her dad tried to give her book back.

“Nu uh, I want you and mommy to have them! And it’s Christmas so you have to do as I say” she informed.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how Christmas work, ma Chèrie” her mum laughed.

“It is now!” Hermione said smiling.

The little family burst into laughter at that. When they finally calmed down Hermione’s parents tried to convince her to take her books back but it was a lost cause, their daughter was too headstrong and kind to do that.

After accepting Hermione wouldn’t get her books back, the small family (read Hermione) decided it was cuddle time. Together they took out the couch cushions and scattered them on the floor before laying side by side, with Hermione in the middle.

* * *

**30 December 1986**

“Josh?” The young girl wearing Wonder Woman pajamas called.

“Mione?” The small boy wearing spider-man pajamas answered absentmindedly, not taking his sight of the scrabbles game they were playing.

“Something weird happened this Christmas” she informed.

That was all it took for the boy to quit looking at the game and focus his big, grey eyes on his best friend, who had come to his house for a sleepover. He knew Hermione was... Different. She could do things he and the other children couldn’t, that was actually why many of the children in their school gave them a wide breath, they were afraid of her, er, uniqueness. But Josh wasn’t. He knew Hermione, knew she would never hurt anyone, she was a good person, she was the _only_ person to ever defend him at school. So while he wasn’t afraid of Hermione, he was afraid for her, he didn’t want her to get in trouble for things she (most times) couldn’t control.

“Ah, what was it this time? Did anyone but your parents see?” Josh asked gravely (or as gravely as a 7 years old could possibly be), scared for his friend.

“Huh? No! Nothing like that! I told I’ve been getting better at controlling it” Hermione exclaimed.

“Er, right... sorry” he said blushing.

He knew Mione didn’t like when he talked about her gifts, she got self-conscious, afraid he would run away and ignore her like the other kids, leaving her alone.

“I thought you said my abilities didn’t scare you...” she trailed off, looking even smaller than she already was, mistaking his worry for her for fear.

“I’m not! I just don’t want you to get in trouble” he reassured her, “I promise!”

“... Okay” she said after staring at Josh for a few seconds, studying his expression, before setting her sight back on the game, distractedly.

“Well, what was it then?” He asked curiously.

“Huh?” Hermione tilted her head.

“You said something weird happened on Christmas, what was it?” He insisted.

“Oh, right!” Hermione started. “Santa didn’t for my parents this year, mum told me it was ‘cause they forgot to write him, but dad was looking weird... I think they were lying.” As she whispered the last word, looking guilt for suggesting an adult would lie, of all things, she looked at her friend waiting for his input.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Josh asked seriously, looking at both sides of his room to make sure there would be no unwanted ears and lowering his voice.

“You can tell me anything!” Hermione promised.

“Dan told me Santa Claus isn’t real, that mum is the one to bring us extra gifts to make up for dad leaving” he explained, “I didn’t believe him at first, but... Well, I went to our mum’s room and went through her drawers-“

“Josh!!! You can’t just-“ The girl interrupted.

“Do you wanna know the truth about Santa or not?” He asked, playing her curious side and knowing he would win.

“... Fine, but you really shouldn’t go through your mum’s things” she said finally.

“As I was saying,” the now smug boy continued “I went trough her drawers and guess what?”

“What?” She said eagerly, inching forward her head almost touching his.

“Our letters were there! How could Santa know what we wanted if our mum kept out letters?” He finished.

“Wow, so what? The grownups have been _lying_ to us?!” She seemed horrified at the notion.

“I don’t think so...” he trailed off.

“But you just said she kept your letters and Santa couldn’t have possibly known what you wanted.” she went on.

“Thats true, but... it’s not a bad kind of lie. It’s the kind of good lie, right? The kind of lie you tell in order to throw your friends a surprise party or something. So, it shouldn’t count as a bad thing! At least that's what Dan told me” He said.

“I guess you have a point” she agreed but still looked troubled.

“You could always just talk to them” Josh tried.

“I guess I will” Hermione said, but still looked thoughtful.

After that they both went back to their games but this time Hermione was much more subdued.

“What’s wrong, Mione?” He asked when the silence started to get to him.

“Now something _else_ is bothering me- well not bothering but... _I don’t_ _know_!” She admitted frustrated.

Josh knew that to his best friend not knowing something was the worst form of torture and for her to admit to not knowing something, well that called for drastic measures. So, he left the game behind altogether and tugged Hermione in the direction of his bed. At his prompting they started to built a makeshift pillowfort in silence together, a few minutes later they were finished and got inside.

They stared at each other for a little while before Josh sighed and went to his best friend’s side. He pulled her into a hug and laid on the floor sharing a pillow.

Still holding his friend he started:

“Don’t worry, we can figure it out together, whatever it is!” He decided.

“My mum gave me this bracelet, but when I asked her what this drawing was she told me it was the family crest. But then I asked daddy and his side of the family doesn’t have a crest” she said in one breath, after cuddling with him for a few minutes.

“Wait, then who- my God, Mione, do you think it’s from her side of the family?” He asked enthusiastically, “because that would be a good thing, right?! You have been curious about them since we had to do that genealogy thing at school.”

“I don’t know! I was happy about it, until I learned adults lie! What if she just told me that because she knew I’d been curious about my grandparents and wanted to make me feel better, like your mum did with Santa?” She shared her fear.

“... I guess you have a point” he said.

Hermione sighed defeated.

“But, we can still figure the truth out” Josh tried, hating seeing his friend sad.

“How?” She mumbled.

“You have the, er, crest thing right? We can search about it, I’ll even go to the library with you! I’m sure we can find something” he said.

“Really?” She asked in a small voice, at her friend nod she smiled brilliantly and hugged even tighter.

“Really, really” he promised.

"Now do you reckon you can make stars show up in the ceiling again?" Josh asked cheekly.

"... You can't tell anyone" Hermione answered.

"_Deal_" he exclaimed, before sighing in awe as the ceiling of their makeshift fort lighted up.

He had the coolest best friend in the world!

The next morning, the Grangers arrived to pick up their daughter, only to find the most adorable sight of Mione and Josh sleeping cuddled into their (now destroyed) pillowfort with content looks on their faces.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A talk about Santa and Hermione sends a letter.  
Let me know what you think :)

* * *

**Thursday, 1 January 1987**

“Mum?” Hermione asked her mother, who was sat by her side on the couch, gently patting her head with one hand and holding up a book with the other.

“They had woken up early today or, more precisely, Hermione woke up early and dropped a chair in her room trying to get a book from the bookshelf, waking her mum, who had always been a light sleeper.

“As it was, Jean suggested they let Robert have some much needed sleep and have a mother-daughter bonding morning: they cooked breakfast together and, since they ate, both were cuddled on the couch reading a book together.

“Oui, ma belle?” her mum said, thinking it was weird for her daughter to interrupt story time so it ought to be something serious.

“Did you lie about Santa?” the girl asked bluntly.

“Uh, what?” her mum asked, not knowing how to answer her baby’s question.

“Josh said he wasn’t real, that he found his letter to Santa inside his mum’s drawers and his brother told him she lied about Santa to make up for his dad… Were you and Daddy lying too?” she insisted.

“Ma Cheriè, we never intended to lie to you.” her mum started, “Santa is, well, I don’t think he exists but… It’s just- growing up I never had the whole Christmas experience, we celebrated the winter solstice, of course, but my flo- er, family wasn’t in the habit of exchanging gifts and there sure never was a ‘Santa’. I guess I just wanted you to have a normal childhood but I’m sorry if you feel lied to right now”.

“I don’t… Feel lied to, that is. I think I get it, you just wanted me to be _normal_.” Hermione said.”But… is that the only thing you lied to me about?”

She could feel her mum tense under her at that question.

“Whatever do you mean by that, love?”

“You didn’t lie, say, about the family crest right?”

“Of course not!” at that her mum seemed a bit affronted. “ I wouldn’t lie about that!”

“Right, sorry, I was just curious” the child apologised sheepsley. “But since we’re talking about that…”

That was the moment Robert chose to come down thumping down the stairs, interrupting the moment, much to Jean relief and Hermione’s annoyance. They didn’t mention her mum’s childhood again the whole day and when the time came for Hermione to go to bed she asked to make a phone call to Josh.

The conversation was brief, least on of her parents walk into the kitchen and listen to the subject of said conversation.

“Hiya, Mione, what’s up? You don’t usually call at this time” he asked, after his brother handed him the phone.

“Mum wasn’t lying about the crest” she informed without greeting him.

“Uh, that’s great! How did you figured that out?” Josh curiously asked.

“She told me” Hermione said

“...”

“She wouldn’t lie about that! And I trust her” she insisted.

“oh, okay. Then so do I! But, I guess this means operation ‘Finding Grandparents’ is over then huh?” he sounded somewhat disappointed.”

“That’s actually why I called… Now that I know she’s telling the truth I’m one step close to finding them!” she exclaimed.

“So the plan is on?” he clarified

“Yeah, the plan is on.” And the line went dead.

* * *

**Sunday, 17 may 1987**

Hermione was a nervous wreck.

Since December she and Josh had been searching unstoppable about french family crests, trying to find whether the bracelet her mum gave her was an actual family heirloom and if so try to get in touch with her grandparents. Much to Hermione’s exasperation they couldn’t find anything in the books.

It wasn’t until Josh’s father took him to visit his work last week that they finally made a breakthrough. Just when he was getting inside of the factory his dad was currently working as an engineer he saw the logo, under it written in big bold letter was the company’s name: Feurier Inc.

The boy gave a excited squeal and demanded his dad told him all about the origin of the company. His father and brother looked at him weirdly, but his dad wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to show off to his children (after all, it was the first time since the divorce he saw them) and told them all he knew about the business: the factory had just been opened in london and they offered him a lot of money to quit his old job, the company was french and worked with iron extraction.

As it turned out Mr. Green didn’t know a whole lot about his new company, but he knew enough to give Hermione and Josh hope.

This past week had been spent searching all they could on Feurier Inc. There wasn’t much information in the books but they didn’t need to know much, as Josh pointed out, they just needed to know an address to send a letter (they decided early on their plan that as important as finding her grandparents was knowing what to say and how to say it to them, and a letter seemed formal enough).

And as of yesterday they found the address they needed: Hermione’s dad had been reading the papers when he mentioned about the new industry in the outskirts of town, her mum, who was reading a book, immediately gasped when he mentioned the company’s name ‘Feurier Inc’ and just like that Hermione knew she was on the right direction to finding her grandparents. Immediately she asked to see the newspaper, her dad handled it to her (by now he was used to his daughter reading anything she could get her hands on) and went to check on her mum who looked a little pale.

She quickly looked through the page before finding an address (_in France_! Hermione thought excitedly) and a phone number in the very bottom of it. It was the address the reader should send a letter to if they had a complain, a suggestion or an inquire, the company assured they would try and answer all of the mail sent to them.

So, today, on may 13th of 1987, Hermione Granger was about to send a letter to her grandparents (hopefully, otherwise she would be sending a letter to a very confused couple about a daughter they never had and a granddaughter that wasn't theirs). The plan quite simple: after school they would go to Josh’s house -her parents and his were onboard with that part of the plan at least- then they would ask Josh’s nanny, Mrs. Andrews, to let them go play in the street and, when she allowed it, they would hurry to the mailing post two blocks from his house. If Mrs. Andrews realised they weren’t on the street and asked where they were, the children would just say they were playing hide and seek and that’s why she couldn’t stop them.

It felt like the perfect plan, and it was!

Everything was going according to plan so far. They got to Josh’s house and played on his videogame for a bit, before claiming to be bored and asing his nanny to allow them to play outside, she agreed but told them not to go far, Dan looked at them suspiciously but didn’t say anything. As soon as they got to the street they looked at each other:

“So, you ready?” Josh asked.

“Nope, let’s do this!” Was all the girl said before running down the street, she was starting to feel butterflies in her stomach at the thought of lying to adults and felt like the only way to get rid of them was to just keep moving.

“Hey! Wait up!” her friend’s voice called out before he started running after her, trying to catch up.

They got to the post office door out of breath, but otherwise fine. They decided to calm down outside before before getting in, least they give any reason for the postman to be suspicious that something was up an called her parents.

“Bloody Hell, Mione, you’re fast!” the boy exclaimed.

“Language! And, well, some of us exercise instead of playing video games all day long” she teased, still catching her breath.

“If I knew ballet would give me that energy, I would have joined it” he said, leaning against the wall and feeling his legs shake from under him.

“There is still time!” Hermione seemed thrilled at the idea of her friend joining her at the lessons.

“As if my dad would ever allow that” Josh mumbled, pushing himself off the wall and pulling his friend inside before she could question what she meant. “C’mon, we’ve got to get back to my house soon”

Inside the post office everything went smoothly, the mailman _did_ ask about their parents, but Josh thought quickly on his feet and told him they were waiting in the car.

Once the letter was sent Hermione’s nerves got the best of her, she just couldn’t help but think this was a mistake: What if they sent the letter to the wrong people? What if they were the right people but the letter never got to them? What if they got the letter but didn’t want anything to do with her? What if-

She decided to cut of that train of thought, she just needed something else to think about on the walk back to Josh’s place.

“So, what did you mean about your dad not letting you try Ballet?” she asked her best friend, trying to focus on him instead of her insecurities.

“It’s nothing…” he sighed, then saw Hermione’s unconvinced look and decided to be honest. “He just- He says if I’m not careful I’m going to turn into a faggot, that’s why he said no when I asked if I could sign up for ballet with you”

“oh... What is a faggot?” Hermione asked, flushing and lowering her voice the way her friend had when he said the word.

“Dunno, but it must be bad, dad got super mad talking about it” he said, looking down.

“Well, I don’t care if you are that! You’re my best friend, faggot or not!” she promised.

“yeah?” he asked looking at her for the first time since they got inside the post office.

“Uh huh” she assured “I’ll even teach some positions if you want!”

“I do! You the best, Mione!” he threw his arms around her in a tight hug.

The rest of the walk to his house was filled with talking and laughter but in the back of her mind Hermione was still thinking about all of the ‘what if’s’ surrounding her family.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which an unexpected visitor shows up at the Grangers home.

_“Things written like this”_ are in french.

_ ‘Things written like this_’ are thoughts.

“Things written like this” are in english.

* * *

**Friday, 2 October 1987**

Inside the second largest room upstairs at the Granger’s home an unusual sight could be seen (or at least unusual to everyone who wasn’t Mr. and Mrs. Granger): The walls where simulating a forest! Not as in a forest themed wallpaper, but as in a full blown forest with the tree tops flowing and bird noises! Most curious of all, a young girl could be seen inside the room completely at ease in the strange senario, reading a book without a care in the world. But come to think of it, it wasn’t all that strange that Hermione Granger was so unbothered by the state of the walls, she was after all the one who made them that way.

Recently Hermione had been having this longings, a strong need to be surrounded by nature, as if a part of herself was missing whenever she was scooped up in a enclosed space.The best way she found to fix the situation whenever she was unable to leave her house was to recreate the object of her longing inside whichever room she was in, the first time she did her dad almost had a heart attack and her mum looked pale, immediately demanding to know where her daughter had seen that forest before, when she told she saw it in a dream her mum looked even more frightened. By now they got used to it and barely even flinched, well, her dad barely flinched, her mum still looked at her weirdly whenever she conjured her little forest. Which was why Hermione decided to stay upstairs in her room instead of helping her mum with dinner.

Tonight her dad went out with some friends leaving mother and daughter alone, since last week had been her mum turn of going out with friends while he watched their daughter. Hermione sighed, her mum had been super weird for a while now and she wished more than anything her dad was there, he was great at calming her mum down whenever Hermione did something, er, spooky.

But no matter, she was sure everything would go back to normal in no time. For now she would just focus on her book and lose herself in the knowledge it would bring her.

That plan worked out wonderfully to her, until the doorbell rang downstairs momentarily breaking her focus. Just as she shrugged it off and assumed her mum was on her way to check the door, it rang again, only this time it didn’t stop ringing until she heard her mum open the door. ‘the nerve of some people… no respect!’ she thought indignantly.

After that everything was suspiciously quiet. Hermione had a very good hearing and the fact that she couldn’t hear anything at all from downstairs put her slightly on edge. She was leaving her room and making her way downstairs to go check on her mum in no time, but calmed down a bit when she heard the door close. Surely her mum sent whoever it was on their way now.

_”Daughter”_ Hermione stopped on the least step of the stair, just barely hidden from the living room where her mum and a gorgeous woman were staring down at each other.

_‘Daughter? No… It can’t be! She’s too youn-’_

_“Mother, what are you doing here?”_ She heard her mum say, dashing any doubt she had that this woman was indeed her grandmother.

Hermione didn’t miss the hostility in her maman’s voice and neither did her grandmother (?) apparently, for the next thing she said was:

_“Are you not happy to see me, Fledgling? You wound me”_

_“Stop it, Mother! Why would I be happy to see you? Isn’t the fact that I moved to another country to leave you clutches enough prove that I don’t want to see you?!”_ Jean exclaimed angrily.

Hermione gulped at that, maybe there was indeed a reason for her mum to avoid here family, she just hoped it wasn’t her action that brought this lady here. Besides what are the odds of it being her fault? She never got an answer to her letter, this was probably just a huge coincidence. So lost in thought Hermione was, she almost missed what her grandmother said next.

“_You will respect me child! I’m tired of your little teenage rebellion. Do you have any idea the pain you brought to your mother running away? She was devastated!”_ The tall gorgeous woman snarled.

_‘Wait, mother?! I thought she was the mother… This is getting confusing’_ Hermione frowned.

“_She was?”_ Jean asked in a small voice “er, I mean, maybe if YOU didn’t throw all your expectations on me, I wouldn’t need to run away!”

_“Need to run away? Need?! Grow up, Jean! How many times did you tell me you didn’t want to follow in my footsteps, huh? How many times did you tell me or Celeste you wanted a different path, huh? Do not blame me for YOUR cowardice!”_ For the first time since the conversation started Hermione's grandmother seemed genuinely pissed and something in the youngs girl’s head screamed ‘DANGER’ at the murderous look on the woman’s face.

“_What are you doing here mother? Or did you just came by to remind me of how much of a failure I am and how much I disappointed our family… our Flock?”_ Jean sighed, sounding defeated.

_“Of course that’s not why I’m here, Jean,_” she said softly, before continuing in a much stronger voice _“I’m here for my heir, my granddaughter”_

“What? Absolutely not! You leave my daughter out of this, you hear me? Hermione wants nothing to do with you!” Jean exclaimed protectively.

_“Shouldn’t we let the child decide that?”_ Estelle suggested, her eyes roaming over where Hermione was hidden by the stairs making the girl duck. _‘There is no way she could know I’m here… Right?’_

_“No, absolutely not! Hermione will not be dragged in that world when she is still a baby! You know what, I want you to leave! Right now, before she comes down the stairs and starts asking questions”_ Her mum exclaimed.

_“I’m afraid it’s too late for that, daughter, your child is probably full of questions already, after this little spat of ours.”_

_“What do you mean? Hermione’s in her room, if you leave now-”_

_“Oh, darling… What have you done to yourself? You didn’t even hear you fledgling coming in the room did you?” _Estelle gave her daughter a pitiful look, before looking at the stairs and saying softly_ ”Come now, Hermione, we already know you are in there”_

The child took a deep breath and left her hiding place, looking first at her mum, who had a shocked and worried look on her face, and then at her grandmother who was smiling at her. A smile Hermione timidly returned with one of her own.

_“You are right, I have a few questions”_ She said in an almost perfect french.

A few minutes later the three ladies were seated by the table, with Estelle at the head of the table, Hermione seated to her right with her mum in front of her.

_“So what’s your first question?”_ Estelle asked.

_“How did you find us?”_ Jean asked before her daughter could get a word out.

_“I was talking to the other child by the table, Dear”_ Estelle taunted, but then saw the look her daughter was sending her and decided to be honest, least her child decide to kick her out and forbid her from seeing her grandchild again. _“Emiliè, she’s the one we put in charge of our the complaint team, you remember her, no? Well, one of her employees showed her an adorable letter from one Hermione Granger, a little girl looking for her grandparents. Emilè knew about our family’s... situation and decided to forward the letter to me, once I read it I needed to know the truth, so I’ve sent some people I trust to assess the veracity of the letter. When they told me it was indeed you they found, I immediately packed and came here. It took some convincing for Celeste to accept to stay behind this time, but I managed, someone needed to be there for our flock after all.”_

_“Wait, so you sent people to spy on us?!”_ Jean exclaimed sounding rather upset. “And you! You sent her a letter? Hermione Granger, for the first time in your life you are grounded!”

_“Of course this is the part you choose to focus on! Besides, don’t take it out on the child! She wouldn’t have had to look for us if you hadn’t be quite so secretive”_ Estelle rolled her eyes.

Hermione was shocked anyone could look that perfect when doing something as trivial as rolling their eyes but apparently her grandmother (?) could.

Before taking a chance of the adults getting into another fight Hermione spoke up:

“_It’s my turn to ask a question!”_ She insisted _“Who are you? You said that Celeste lady was my mum’s mother but then you called mum your daughter…”_

_“Ah, child, you amuse me! Surely your mother told at least that much about our kind ,no?”_ Estelle laughed.

_“Told me what? What do you mean ‘our kind?”_ Hermione was more confused than anything.

_“Mother, maybe now is not the best moment-”_ Jean started only to be interrupted.

_“Not the right time? The right time was years ago when this child started talking! Hell, maybe even before then.”_ If Hermione thought she saw Estelle angry before, she was in for a surprise.

The french beauty face started morphing, and not morphing in rage no. It was actually morphing, where before she had beautiful short hair, now she had feathers. Her gorgeous browns eyes were now blue slits, and even seated she seemed to grow tall. Some ripping noise could be heard and then two huge black wings appeared on her back.

_“Now you listen to me: It’s one thing for you to desert your people, but another altogether for you to condemn your daughter to your fate! Not only you didn’t tell her about her Grandmothers, you also didn’t to tell about what she is? About her people? You are a disgrace to our kind”_

Listening to the scary voice from the even scarier lady Hermione lounged herself over the table top and into her mum’s lap, not only was she afraid but her mum also looked like she was going to start crying anytime now. She had to do something!

_“S-stop! She is a great mum! Leave us alone, I don’t wanna to get to know you anymore!”_ The child said, hoping the bird lady would listen and just leave.

Two slits focused on the girl, before bird morphed into woman back, right in front of Hermione’s eyes.

_“My apologies, Hermione, I lost control of myself for a second there. You see, Veelas are very proud beings and seeing one of our own, my own daughter, to show such disrespect for our people, to keep a fledgling away from her flock, well, it tickled me in the wrong way. Will you forgive me?”_ Her Grandmother begged.

_“I don’t know”_ She said feeling her mum hugging her tightly from behind and nuzzling her neck._ “... Tell me about this Veela thing though, and I just might make up my mind”_


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Story time with Mrs. Granger  
Let me know what you think :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, guys, I have decided to add one, maybe two, more chapters to this story before moving on to Hermione's first year at Hogwarts. What do you think?  
I don't know wether to write more about the Veela world or just upload two more chapters about it, glossing over what's the most important parts for the story...  
Please let me know what you guys think about it!

**Saturday, 03 October 1987**

Hermione Granger was pensively glaring at her ceiling in the wee hours of morning. Last night was... enlightening (and if she was being frank, quite scary).

After one of her grandmother’s turned into a bird and claimed Hermione was a Veela, things had gone somewhat smoothly, or as smoothly as a conversation about magical beings, wizards, witches and family (magical) business could possibly go. At least her mum and Estelle hasn’t fought again.

The young girl still couldn’t wrap her mind about everything that had been said though, it was just too much information in too little time to assimilate. And the worst part was she didn’t even know if it was worth it to seek more information about this matter, after all, in order to know more she would have to talk to Estelle again and, grandmother or not, that lady was scary! 

There was a soft knock on her door, followed by her mother’s soft voice:

“Ma Chèrie, may I come in?”

“Uh, sure?” Hermione tried to say, but it sounded more like a question.

The hardest thing for her to assimilate in this whole situation was the fact her mum kept this from her. It felt like she was being lied to her by her own family whole life. She definitely didn’t know how to feel about _ that _.

With a sigh Hermione left the bed and went to her desk, located under her window. Opening a random notebook on a clear page, she started writing:

_ ‘Things I Learned Tonight (Numerically Organized from the Most Important to Least Important): _

  1. __Magic Exists;__
  2. _I’m Half-Veela (and possibly a witch);_
  3. _Mum is a full blooded Vella;_
  4. _Mum lied;_
  5. _Veelas are magical beings, cousins of the sirens and harpies (because apparently those are real too);_
  6. _Veelas can turn into bird-like things and fly with their wings;_
  7. _As a half-Veela I won’t shift completely like Estelle;_
  8. _Mum can’t shift anymore (I think this is a sore subject); _
  9. _I have two Grandmothers;_
  10. _Two women who love each other are called Lesbians;_
  11. _The non-magical people in the UK are called muggles;’_

Before being able to write another line,Hermione was interrupted by a knock on her door. Quickly closing her book and turning her chair in the direction of the door, she called:

“Come in.” 

“Hey. How are you feeling, love?” Her mum asked, walking cautiously inside her daughter’s room, heading for the bed.

“I don’t know” Hermione answered, and it was the truth. She didn’t _ know _ : she didn’t know how she felt, she didn’t know what to do, she didn’t know what to say and worst of all she didn’t know if she _ wanted _ to know any more about this mess. Even making a list, which usually helped when she was learning a new subject, were making her even more confused.

It finally got to be too much and the girl runned to her bed, throwing herself into her mother’s arms. She just wanted things to make sense, but finding her grandmother(s) had the opposite effect.

“Why didn’t you tell me, mommy?” The child cried.

“Oh, ma Chérie, I’m sorry, so so sorry! It was never supposed to be like this, you know. I would tell you when you were older, but I failed you, baby!” Jean said in a pained tone, seeing her child hurt like that made her feel like a part of herself was breaking.

“N-no, you _ didn’t. _I’m s-sorry, Maman, I just- I don’t understand!” At that Hermione felt a few tears slip, but quickly wiped them. She didn’t want to cry, she wanted answers. 

“I know, love, I know. Everything is pretty confusing now, but I’m here! I know I tried to keep this from you but I promise, Baby, I’ll tell you anything you want to know, okay? Just please stop crying, I hate seeing you like that” Her mum said.

“A-anything?” Hermione asked.

“Yup, anything at all. But first let’s wipe those tears, huh?”

“O-okay.” 

“I will be right back.”

Jean removed herself from under her daughter and went to Hermione bathroom, quickly grabbing a towel and wetting it a bit, she brought it back to the room.

“Here, let me help you” Jean waited for Hermione's permission, before gently starting to clean her daughter’s face free of her tears.

After taking her time cleaning Hermione and disposing of the towel in the bathroom, Jean came back to bed, made herself comfortable and said:

“Ask away, love.”

“Why did you lie to me?” 

This was the one question that kept Hermione awake last night, with magic she could cope (her abilities were never exactly normal to start with) but being lied to by her mum? Well, let’s just hope her Maman had a good excuse. 

“As you probably gathered from last night, I runned away from home when I was a teen but what you don’t know is the reason behind my little rebellion, as mother put it. My whole life there were those expectations on how I should act, who I should be, but the biggest expectation was on who I should fall in love with. 

You see, Veelas mate for life, Ma Cherie, so finding your mate was a great joy but also a great responsibility. The Feurier’s, well, we’re a bit different from most Veelas: usually, Veela’s can fall for anyone despite of their race human, magical creature it doesn’t matter, as soon as you are both of age and glance at each other the bond will start to form, it can take a while but at some you will realise-”

“How?” Hermione interrupted.

“I don’t know, love.”

“How can you not know? What about Daddy? Isn’t he your soulmate?” The questions were fired in quick succession.

“How about you let me finish the story, huh? Things will make more sense than” Jean berated her daughter softly, and waited for her nod before continuing:

“As I was saying the Feurrier’s are different from most Veela’s, up to this day there were only records of our family finding their soulmates in other Veelas, never a human or a magical creature from another species.

You see, that was the thing that bugged me the most: not only I wouldn’t decide my career path, who I wanted my friends to be, who I wanted to spent the rest of my life with, but I also knew I would probably be with another veela for the rest of my life and odds were I would probably have grown up with that Veela.

So, the night of my 17th birthday I got all the money I had been saving, ran away and performed a ritual. Long story short, while it couldn’t change my heritage, it would mute it: There’s always going to be Veela’s Blood on my veins, but everything else that makes someone a veela, such as the ability to shift, to find a mate, to communicate with the nature, those things will forever be locked inside of me, in a place no one will ever be able to reach.

A side effect of the ritual was that I was supposed to be infertile, at 17 I thought it was a small price to pay, but as I grew I realized how much I wanted a baby, _ my _ baby.

Your dad also wanted to start a family, he wanted the whole ordeal: a huge marriage, a nice house in a good neighborhood and above anything else he wanted children. I told him I couldn’t conceive but never told him why, at the beginning I thought he wouldn’t believe me and then I just lost my nerve, what if he didn’t want me anymore if he knew what I was, what I’ve done? 

He was a bit disappointed about it, he never told me as much, but I know he was. So a year into our marriage he came up with the idea of going to a doctor, an expert in fertility, I didn’t want to at first, I thought it was a waste of money, after all, magical issues cannot be solved with muggle medicine. The doctor agreed with me, he said he never saw anything like that, but, as it was, a few months later we received the wonderful news I was pregnant. I was so, so happy, Hermione, I couldn’t believe it. You were our little miracle, even our doctor couldn’t explain how that happened. And from that moment I knew I would do everything in my power to keep you safe, to give you the normal childhood I always longed for, after all I wasn’t about to give Fate the chance of taking my little miracle back from me. 

That world is dangerous, Hermione, I might have been wrong in keeping you away from the truth, but I just wanted to keep you safe, to ensure you would make your own choices when the time came! A-also, I was afraid, I didn’t want you to know about that world because... What if you chose them? I no longer have a place in the magical community, Love, if you chose to explore that world, I wouldn’t be able to go with you. 

There was also the matter of mother’s reaction once she knew about the ritual I performed, the reason I came to another country was to ensure no one would find out about the ritual, I knew the reactions wouldn’t be good, the flock would feel betrayed and angry about my decision, mother would be the worst of them of course… And then I had you and I just _ knew _their anger would only increase once they learned I kept their heir from them… I just don’t want her to take you as the new Feurier heir, now that I was unfit for the position, Mione. I want you to have a good childhood, and no one in that world manages to remain a child for long. 

I’m sorry for lying, Ma Cherie but I’m not sorry for doing what I thought was best to keep you safe.”

There was a few minutes of silence before the child said:

“So you _ don’t _ know if Dad is you soulmate?”

Jean let out a choked laugh at that, saying “Of course this is your first question” she shook her head fondly and continued “I don’t know if he is my soulmate, no. But I do know I love him, and I know what we have is something we constructed and not something that was thrusted upon us.”

“Is dad magical? Or is he a, er, muggle?” Hermione asked after taking in her mum’s answer.

“He is a muggle, he also doesn’t know about the magical world and I would like to keep it that way for a little longer.” 

“_ You want me to LIE to daddy?” _ The child seemed scandalized at the thought.

“No, baby! Of course not! I just want you to give me a little while to figure how to tell him, okay?”

“... Okay, can I think about it?”

“Sure, love, take your time. I know you have a lot going on your mind right now… Do you have more questions?” 

“Yeah… Um, is being a Veela a bad thing? Do-Do I have to go through the ritual too?”

“Hermione, I want you to pay close attention to what I’m about to say, okay?” she waited for her daughter’s nod before continuing “I’m never, ever, going to make that kind of choice for you. Being a Veela is not good or bad, just like being a muggle is not good or bad… It’s all about perspective, about what you want to do with your life, my goals didn’t match with being a Veela, I didn’t want a life centered about politics and power, I wanted a normal, calm life, and the easiest way to find it was through the ritual. But you don’t have to want the same things as I did, Baby. No matter the path you chose, I will love and support you, alright?”

“But, if being a Veela is not bad why were you afraid of them?”

“I… Look, I know I promised to tell you everything but I think I might not be the best to tell you about all this stuff. It’s been years since I left that world behind completely, besides my views on them are going to be a bit biased”

“But, mommy, I have to know!”

“I know you do, Ma Belle, which is why I asked mother to set up a meeting with Maman when I was showing her the door last night. I knew you were bound to have questions and I probably wouldn’t know how to answer them all, so out of the two of them, she’s the one I’m the most comfortable with being around you.”

“Is she as scary as you mum- er, your other mum?”

“I don’t think so, no. She’s very nice, you are going to love her… That is if you _ want _to meet with her” At that Jean looked hopeful, maybe her daughter would choose to stay in the safety of their nest.

“I thought you wanted to keep me from them” Hermione looked confused.

“And I do, love, but as Veelas we have to encourage our fledgling to take their first flight, no matter how much we want to keep them under our wings. I might not be a true Veela, but their blood and many of their values still run in my veins… So, do you want to meet her?”

“You will be there too, right?”

“Of course.”

“And she is not scary?”

“You’re right, i won’t! And, yes, I think I really want to meet her” 

Mother and daughter share a smile at that, Jean’s was bittersweet, while Hermione’s was bright at the thought of finally having all her questions answered (by someone who wasn’t super scary).

“Now do you have anymore questions about me, our family or why I kept this from you? _ Those _ are the questions I can help you with.” Jean asked, trying to keep her mind off the, probably very difficult, encounter she was about to have with her Maman.

“Uh, yeah!”

After that Hermione launched into question after question about her mums life up until she decided to leave her flock, and even more questions about her life after leaving. 

Later that morning, Robert went to look for his wife, only to find her with their daughter sleeping peacefully cuddled into the young girl’s bed. He smiled fondly before heading to the kitchen, decided to wake them with some breakfast in bed. 

He was glad they finally seemed to be over the awkwardness that took over their relationship for the past few days.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new character is properly introduced and a little story time about Veelas.   
Let me know what you guys think of this chapter :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I’m so sorry it took me this long to update! My computer was robbed in November and I didn’t manage to get a new one til recently. I promise to update this story more often to make up for you all.   
Also for those of you posting encouraging comments or just giving your opinion in each chapter, thank you! Your encouragement and thoughts mean the world to me.  
Well, without further ado, enjoy the story.

**Saturday, 10 October 1987**

Hermione and Jean Granger were heading to a secluded restaurant nearby Hermione’s school, one Hermione had never noticed, much less been to before. But she was not giving it much thought, she had bigger things to worry about today. She was meeting her (other) grandmother today after all, and if she insisted on eating there, the sure wasn’t about to complain. 

It was impossible to determinate who was more nervous about the eminent meeting, while Hermione was practically bouncing within each step she took and couldn’t stay quiet for even a second, her mum was driving with a blank expression on her face, gripping the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white.

“Honey,” Jean interrupted her daughter’s rambling “We are almost there, when we arrive please don’t talk to anyone, keep yourself close to me and if you see anyone who looks, er, different, don’t stare, okay?”

“Don’t worry, mum, I’ll behave... What do you mean by ‘different’?” Hermione questioned.

“You will see when we get there” Jean answered mysteriously before parking the car in front of a run down building, with it’s painting peeling off.

“Okay, let's go!” Mrs. Granger breathed out, opening her car door.

“Wait, that’s it?” The girl could barely keep the disappointment out of her face, this was definitely not what one expects when they are about to meet their (other) magical grandmother for the first time.

“I guess it is, but don’t rule it out before we go in. If there’s one thing I learned from the magical world is to  _ never  _ judge anything by its appearance”.

“Right… Let’s go then” Hermione agreed but was still somewhat sceptical.

Arriving inside the restaurant, Hermione realized her mum was right. This place was simply  _ perfect _ ! It looked nothing like the old, destroyed building outside.

The walls were salmon colored, with some fancy looks paintings hanging from it in strategic places, the floor’s were polished and shined brightly, almost making Hermione feel guilty for stepping on it. The tables were scattered around, covered with a soft material that looked like silk and finally from the ceiling a  _ huge  _ crystal chandelier was hanging. 

This place was obviously fancy, fancier than any place she had been to before despite her family financial condition been above average. It wasn’t a big restaurant by any means, but that only reinforced in Hermione’s mind that the clientele here was very selected.

The girl’s taken out of her musing by a gorgeous woman with bright red hair and a irish accent.

“Hello, my name is Patricia, I work here at The Priestley’s Cousine… Are you two lost?” The hostess asked somewhat patronisingly, giving them a once over.

“We are here to meet with someone actually. Celeste Feurrier. You are familiar with that name, no?” Jean asked with a cold tone, taking pleasure in the other woman’s paling face.

“You- you are Hermione and Jean Granger?” Patricia asked.

“Indeed” Jean confirmed.

“Oh, right then!” She plastered her fakest, brightest smile “If you follow me, I’ll take you to you table, Lady Feurrier is already waiting for you”

Jean just raised an eyebrow and followed the woman to the back of the restaurant, ignoring her incessant ass kissing, now that she knew who they were. Hermione, meanwhile, watched the interaction (if you can even call it that) shocked by her mum’s coldness, she was usually a rather welcoming person, so obviously this meeting was taking a toll on her. With that thought in mind, the child held her mum’s, squeezing softly in support and receiving a loving smile in return.

“Here we are, I hope you have a wonderful time with us today. Your server will be here shortly” The hostess informed, stopping by a secluded booth in the far corner of the restaurant.

“No, tell our waitress to take her time, please.” A soft voice, thick with a french accent came from the booth, dismissing the hostess, who hurried to do as she was told 

The owner of the voice slowly raised from her position seated with her back to the new comers. Hermione was starting to see a pattern now: apparently everyone from the wizarding world was beautiful, and this lady sure wasn’t an exception. She had long, curly hair with eyes that seemed to shine even in the dimmed lights inside the restaurant and the second she spotted the two women her face morphed in a smile, making her even prettier.

_ “Oh, come here, Baby, I missed you so much!”  _ Celeste said, with a teary smile.

Or at least Hermione assumed this was Celeste otherwise things were about to be awkward, since her mum all but threw herself in the woman’s arms.

“ _ Mom! I missed you too!”  _ Jean said, nuzzling in the older woman’s neck, trying to catch as much of her scent as she could. Celeste seemed to do the same thing as she closed her eyes and pressed her nose against the top of her daughter’s hair. 

At that Hermione diverted her eyes, she felt like she was invading in a private moment, even more so than she did when her mum was talking to Estelle. After a few seconds of the mother-daughter reunion though, Celeste seemed to remember they were not alone, opening her eyes she stared straight at the young girl.

_ “How rude of me” _ She exclaimed, giving her daughter one last squeeze before letting go and going to Hermione  _ “You must be Hermione, I hope you forgive me for my manners, I just couldn’t help myself. May we start over?“ _ She waited the child’s nod before continuing “ _ My name is Celeste Feurrier and I’m your Grandmother, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you!” _

Hermione quickly shot a look over her grandmother's shoulder at her mum for approval, she has been on her best behavior later (even more so than usual) since she realized how much distress her last disobedience had caused her mother. If she told Hermione not to talk to anyone in the restaurant, then she wouldn’t, no matter how much she wanted to answer the kind looking lady, gazing expectantly at her. 

Her mum seemed to realizes what she was after for she discreetly wiped an emotional tear that escaped her eyes and nodded her permission at her daughter.

_ “Hello, it’s nice meet you too! And don’t worry, you weren’t rude, I know my mum give the best hugs, sometimes I can’t help myself either.”  _ She informed, her smile matching her grandmothers. Something told her she would like Celeste much more than Stelle. 

_ “Indeed she does!”  _ Celeste agreed looking back at her daughter softly  _ “How about we take our sets, huh? I’m sure we have much to talk about.” _

She waited for the Granger women to consent and take their seats before joining them. As soon as they sat, Celeste started to talk again, she wasn't about to allow a awkward silence to build among them. 

_ “So, Hermione, I’ve heard quite a bit about you, but I would rather listen from the source. Would you tell me a bit about yourself?”  _ She pleaded. 

Hermione could say she was shocked, she didn’t expect her grandmother to be asking about her, she was just a muggle-raised girl after all.

_ “Uh, What would you like to know?”  _ She asked.

_ “Everything, but we can start with your favorite color? If it isn’t too forward of me to ask of course.”  _ Celeste said smiling.

_ “I like blue”  _ The child giggled  _ “What’s your favourite color?”  _

_ “I have a fondness for Purple. What about you, Jean? Has your favorite colour changed from when we last saw each other?”  _ The older woman included her daughter in the conversation when she met her eyes.

After that conversation flowed easily between them. Topics such heritage, family business and expectations were not mentioned, it was as if they were all waiting for the other to address the elephant in the room.

Their easy going conversation was interrupted by the of a gorgeous (of course) and nervous looking waitress.

“Hello, I’m Miranda and I’ll will be your waitress today. Are you ready to take a look at the menu or would you like for me to return later?” The woman asked.

“What do you say, girls?” Celeste asked mother and daughter seated across from her in the booth.

“I’m hungry” Hermione said bluntly, she was already feeling comfortable around her grand-mère. The women smiled at her, her mum shaking her head fondly while doing so.

“On that case, we would like to check the menu, please” Jean informed the waitress, who seemed relieved at that. 

Miranda immediately took three menus from her uniform (Hermione didn’t know how they could’ve possibly fit there, but she would just add that to the many questions she was planning on asking Celeste later) and handed them to everyone seated at the table.

“Here, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be back in a little while to take your orders” their waitress said, taking her leave.

Silence reigned over the table as they chose their meal, broken only about the odd comment about a dish they thought looked good.

_ “I want the Onion Soup for an entrance and Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Cream and Glazed Carrots as a main dish.” _ Hermione informed.

“ _ Very well, I’d like Onion Soup for an entrance also but with the  _ _ Lamb Chops with Balsamic Reduction _ _ ”  _ Celeste said.

_ “Hm, I think I’ll go with the Pumpkin Soup and the Falafel Fish with Israeli Salad”  _ Jean decided lastly. 

Barely a minute after they decided their order the waitress returned to take it. She promised to be back soon with their entrance shortly and left again.

_ “While I’ve loved our catching up so far, maybe it’s time for us to move onto some serious subject now”  _ Celeste suggest.

Just like that the tension in the table skyrocketed. 

Jean looked at her daughter, this was Hermione’s call after all, and Celeste kept moving her gaze back and forth between mother and daughter, wanting to make sure they were both okay with where the conversation was headed.

_ “Uh, okay… I have a few questions”  _ Hermione informed.

_ “Yes, I assumed you would” _ Celeste said kindly, before looking at her daughter to make sure she was okay,  _ “Jean?” _

_ “Yes, go ahead. I- I’m fine, this is why we are here today after all.”  _ She sent a shaky smile to her mum and daughter, after a little while they both nodded making Jean smile a little more genuine, once she realized the resemblance between them. 

_ “If we are all in accord, what is your first question, dear?”  _ Celeste asked.

_ “I have so many! I don’t even know where to start”  _ Hermione said nervously.

_ “On that case how about I explain to you a little about us, then? You can interrupt me to ask questions anytime, alright?” _

_ “Alright” _ Hermione was relieved by her grandmother’s patience.

_ “To start, what do you already know about us?” _

_ “Not much. Mum told me about how Veela’s have mates and how the Feurrier’s only found their mates in other Veelas so far. I also know magic is real and so are witches and wizards, muggles are people without magic, there are other magical creatures out there that aren’t Veelas and i’m only a half Veela so I don’t change like full veelas do.”  _ The child said in one breath.

_ “Very good, darling, I can see why word got to me that we have little genius in our family”  _ Her grandmother praised  _ “Now, you are correct in everything you just said but Veelas are a bit more than just beings that can shift into birds and mate for life. I’d like to tell you a little about the story of our kind if that’s okay” _

Celeste waited for Hermione’s nod and unwavering attention and then started telling the girl their story.

_ “Well, we Veelas, like every other species out there, have our own belief of how we came to exist.  _

_ As the tale goes, it is said that a long, long time ago, when gods and folks lived together in harmony, there was a woman, prettier than any in her village, some even say prettier than Aphrodite herself. It is said she had a lively hair, eyes which made any who looked directly at her dazed, and a smile that would make even the sourest heart skip beat, merely from the purity of it. But her looks could be deceiving, while the her appearance was of a frail and innocent being, she was the best and most vicious warrior of her village. She  _ enjoyed _ bathing in the blood of her enemies and causing mayhem.  _

_ Her bloodlust, skills and looks made her the most wanted woman in the village, but no one stood a chance, for her heart belonged to her beloved. Except his heart did not belong to her in return. _

_ It was on a fateful night, returning home surprisingly early from a well fought battle that the woman learned the true nature of the man she thought to love.  _

_ While the details of this particularly night is not fit for young ears, I’ll tell you this, Hermione, the betrayal was of the utmost cruelty, it was such an vile act, the woman’s poor heart couldn’t survive the pain.  _

_ She died from the heartbreak, and was forgotten, left in the woods nearby her village. _

_ Well, or almost forgotten. _

_ Remember how I told you her beauty rivaled that of the Aphrodite herself?  _

_ As it is, the goddess of beauty heard about the betrayal and her heart went out for the woman, she saw a lot of good qualities in her that should be cherished, and couldn't help but feel like the woman deserved a second change and the village deserved to be punished for turning her back on her. _

_ In an act of despair Aphrodite brought the woman back from the dead, but her body was no longer fit for her soul to inhabit, so the goddess found a solution: she would free the spirit of the woman on the wind, giving her the power to control it, to lure in those weak of heart with the beauty that even her ghost form possessed and prey on their souls. _

_ The woman then started to haunt the woods by her village, luring in men and women alike to do her bidding and when they failed her, ending them. On the rare occasion someone worth of her attention showed up, she would auxiliate them in archiving their goals and defeating their enemies.  _

_ After a while, another of her kind, the soul of another betrayed woman, appeared, apparently Aphrodite had been busy... _

_ In time, more souls showed up and The First Soul, or the first Veela, realized the more numbers they had, the stronger they became, being able to shift form into some animals such as falcons or swans, while also being able to create even greater winds and attract an even bigger number of preys. _

_ As such, she understood the importance, the power, of being united with her sister. Every night, at her prompting, the sisters started dancing in the sacred dancing circle on their hidden spot in the woods, it was both a celebration of their second chance and a thanks to their goddess for granting them it to them. _

_ Nothing changed for a few eras, the Veelas kept with their sacred ritual, their never ending battles, helping the strong of hearts and ending those who weren’t worthy of their affections. Up to that fateful day, or as we know it in our culture or as we know it in our culture “The Finding Day”. _

_ The Finding Day, for a Veela is the day their soul find their other half, the one and only who can make them completely happy and free. And of course, our heroin had to be the first one to ever experience such a thing: _

_ For the flock of the found souls, it was an ordinary day. They had spent the anterior night dancing to their goddess and this morning were simply doing their regular things: attracting preys, hunting, fighting, helping, maiming. You know, the usual. _

_ That is until they heard a noise, someone was approaching their sacred circle and that was NOT something they were about to allow. Quickly summoning their leader, the first Veela, they hurried towards the invader.  _

_ They found a woman just as she as about to step into their circle, _

_ “STOP, INTRUDER” , the First Veela screamed in fury. After all, how dare a mere, weak human approach their sacred place. _

_ The human looked startled at the comotion, she gasped from the shock of seeing a flock of half undressed woman pointing swords, arrows and the likes at her. Coming to the woods had been an impulse, one she was starting to regret if this was the reception she was getting, but she had to be strong, she came to seek help after all and running at the first sight of trouble probably wouldn’t help her get what she wanted. She had heard the rumors of the beautiful creatures in the woods, the ones who would help those they deemed worthy of their attention, and right now she needed help, she just didn’t expect this... animosity, at her arrival. _

_ “Please, I come in peace. I’ve been told the rumors about this woods since I was a child, all I want is your help. I swear I want to cause no trouble” The newcomer said trembling, avoiding the intimidating women eyes. _

_ “And you think invading our sacred land is the way to go about seeking help, stranger?” The First Veela asked, fury still evident in her eyes and voice. She couldn’t believe the nerve of this intruder to come into their homes in such a way, asking for favors! Not only that, but from the tremble of the woman’s hands and the nice, bright clothes it was obvious she was no warrior. What kind of help she could possibly want from them? _

_ Her reasonable and sadistic sides were screaming at her to end the other woman, but her instincts told her to wait, told her there was  _ something _ about the woman. _

_ “What? This place is sacred to you?” She asked the obvious making the Veelas roll her eyes at her. “Er, I guess you just said it was sacred, didn’t you?” she chuckled trying to alleviate the tension but it seemed to have the opposite effect. _

_ “You find that funny?” The leader of the Veelas asked, obviously cross. _

_ “NO! Not at all. I just-” she sighed, “I just really need help”. _

_ The first Veela wouldn’t know for a long time what made her say the next words, but all she said was: _

_ “Step away from the circle. We can talk, then”. _

Celeste was interrupted by their food arriving. Or appearing, as it would be a more accurate way of describing.

Hermione eyes almost bugged out of her head at the sight of food simply appearing from thin air, not to mention she was quite entertained in the story and the sudden movement gave her quite the fright. Jean wasn’t in a much better condition, while she was no stranger to magic, she was quite unused to see it in action after so many years of self imposed exile. 

“Here, it is. Enjoy your meal! Is there anything else I can get you? Some elvish wine to go with the food maybe?” Miranda asked nervously. 

At that Hermione actually jumped, her ‘abilities’ going haywire and causing a cup to explode, making her mum and grandmother yelp, and almost jump out of their seats themselves. She didn’t see the woman walking there at all! One second they were alone, the next there was food and their waitress was standing there as if she had never left. When she realised there was no attack, she merely blushed and sat back down.

“Sorry” She mumbled. Hermione betted the cup must have cost a fortune,  _ everything _ here seemed to cost a fortune, and now she exploded it.

Before her mum and Celeste could comfort her, Miranda jumped in. She was used to deal with broken furniture, usually from spoiled, rich children throwing tantrums when their parents didn’t let them eat dessert before lunch. Well, if she could deal with that, she could definitely deal with a child who had cleary just had an accident caused from a fright.

“Oh, no need to apologize. It happens all the time!” the waitress reassured, shooting the girl a warm smile which was shyly and somewhat suspiciously returned. Then she took a stick out of her uniform and with a quick flick of her wrist the mess was cleaned. “See? No harm done.”

“Wow” Hermione said, amazed once again today. Before she could fire question at the woman about how she did that, her mum started talking.

“Thank you” Jean said, already deciding to give the woman a nice tip for her gentleness dealing with her daughter, “Which wine would the Chef recommend to go with our meal?”

Miranda quickly told them of s good match for each course, including non-alcoholic beverages for Hermione. When the drinks were chosen and served she left once again, but not before wishing them a nice meal.

_ “So, Hermione, any questions?”  _ Celeste asked.

Jean almost scoffed at the question  _ ‘if her daughter had any questions?! I don’t know… Is the sky blue?’  _ but she kept those thoughts to herself, deciding instead to focus on her meal and listen to the rain of queries she was sure was about to follow.

And she wasn’t disappointed.

_ “Yes!” _ Hermione exclaimed,  _ “Where do those stories come from, exactly? Is it a book, like the bible? Can I read it? Also, you said the woman was forgotten by her village, how could that happen if she was so strong and useful? Why did her lover betray her? And how? Also-” _

_ “Okay, okay. I can see you have quite a few questions”  _ Celeste chuckled _ “How about you eat while I answer those and we can go from there, huh?”  _ At Hermione’s nod she proceeded  _ “There are many books of our story, battle, losses, glories, yes. But mostly our culture is passed orally from mother to child, the books are kept updated and used, of course, but for those who can read and comprehend them and wish to go deeper into our people history. To answer your second question, no, you can’t read them. Don’t pout like that, darling. You literally  _ can’t  _ read them, they are written in either veelan or ancient veelan. I can teach you in the future, if you want of course but for now it would be impossible for you to read those books.” _

Celeste took a pause then to take a few bites of her own meal, which in all honesty was delicious.

_ “You can really teach me that?”  _ The girl seemed genuinely excited at the thought of learning something new, a new language at that!

Celeste smiled, but looked at Jean with a subtle quirked eyebrow before making any promises. She knew her place after all.

_ “I think that would be a great idea”  _ Jean side after a beat.

_ “Then it’s settled” _ Celeste answered.

She enjoyed a few more bites of her food before noticing how her granddaughter seemed to be squirming in her chair, probably trying to refrain from asking more questions and being impolite and decided to indulge her.

Clearing her throat she started again.

_ “To answer your third question, the woman was useful and wanted but she was also envied. The warriors envied her combat skills, the vain envied her looks, and even her admires resented her for her uninterest in them. In the end of the day she had many allies who enjoyed using her for her skills, but few true friends who would miss her and fight for her. She was a mean to an end, to her village, sure, a great loss in battle but not much more.” _

_ “Oh,”  _ Hermione said  _ “That’s awful” _ .

The girl imagined been in the woman’s shoes, doing anything for your people only to learn it wasn’t reciprocated in the worst way possible, with a betrayal by someone she loved. Sure, from the story told the woman liked causing pain in her enemies but, still, she put her life in danger in every battle for her people, that should count for something.

Realizing the girl was deep in thought, Celeste decided to give her some time. Meanwhile, Jean saw the distressed expression in her daughter face and gently petted her hair, trying to offer comfort. 

Finally, the girl looked back at her grandmother, waiting.

_ “As to why he betrayed her, greed would be the correct answer. And I won’t tell you today what he did, Hermione. Today is about our history, but worry not: in the future you are going to hear the whole, unedited story.”  _ Celeste informed.

_ “Alright.”  _ Hermione said after sometime, pouting a bit. She didn’t enjoy not knowing things, but she guessed for now her grandmother promise to tell her everything in the future would have to be enough. 

By then, Miranda once again showed up to ask whether she may take the dishes and if they were ready for the main course, which at the women consent was served with the proper beverage to accompany. 

This time, Hermione was somewhat ready for the sight of food appearing from nowhere and didn’t jump. Small victories.

After savoring the first bite of their food in silence, Hermione decided to break the quiet atmosphere with her next question.

_ “What was the reason?” _ She questioned.

_ “The reason?”  _ Celeste asked confused.

_ “You said the First Veela wouldn’t know why she gave the woman a chance for a while. What was the reason?”  _ Hermione repeated.

_ “Oh, that. The season would be that a Veela instincts stop them from trying to harm their mate, or even allow harm to befall their beloved at all. As it is, The First Veela was also the first one to find her soulmate.”  _ Celeste informed.

_ “Do all Veelas have mates?”  _ The child asked curiously.  _ “Even the half-blood ones?” _

_ “Indeed they do. While depending on how diluted the blood of a Veela is, some of her abilities will be compromised, the capability of finding our true mate is something all of us have.”  _ Her grandmother answered.

At that Hermione remembered her talk with her mum the other night. About how her mum ran away in fear of finding her mate, fear of being thrusted into a love she didn’t want and while she was rather young to understand all the implications of the kind of bond her grandmother was talking about, Hermione had a few reservations herself.

_ “What if your mate is annoying? Or if they don’t want you?”  _ Hermione asked frowning.

_ “There might be some animosity between mates at some point, yes, but it’s simply impossible for a Veela to complete dislike her mate. We believe mates are separated for each other by Aphrodite herself, in an attempt to ensure the continuation of our bloodline and the strength of our people.”  _ Celeste face took a somber look before starting what she was about to say next.  _ “I need you to understand that it is  _ very  _ rare for a Veela to be denied her mate. On the occasion the Veela finds her mate but is denied of being with them for whatever reason, death tend to end the poor creatures suffering. We are creatures of love, Hermione, and knowing we lost our mates tend to cause a brand of suffering which most cannot recover.” _

_ “Is that why you didn’t want a mate?”  _ Hermione asked wide eyed at her mum, having a mate right now didn’t sound all that fun to be honest.

_ “Yes, among other reasons.”  _ Jean said, avoiding her mum gaze. While Celeste was always the easier to talk to of her parents, she knew claiming not to want a mate went against everything Veelas believed in and she didn’t want to step in any toes.

Deciding today had been intense and informative enough for a first meeting, Jean decided to bring in safer topics of conversation for the rest of the meal, starting now.

_ “Maman, Hermione, while the conversation so far has been the most delightful, why don’t we change topics for a bit? After all, I bet Maman must be tired of doing the talking. Why don’t you explain her about our world for a bit, Mione?”  _ Jean asked.

_ “Uh, okay. What would you like to know, Grandmother?”  _ Hermione asked. If there was one thing she liked almost as much as learning, it was teaching.

_ “Would you tell me about televisions? I find those most amusing, with their resemblance to one way mirrors, only used for entertaining!” _

_ “Of course” _ Hermione shot her a smile, before exposing all the facts she knew about televisions, from who created it, to how it worked, to her favourite shows.

The rest of their meal passed in a easy going atmosphere with light conversation, and when the time came for them to leave all three ladies seemed rather reluctant to depart each other company.

And it was Jean who came up with a solution while they were gathering themselves to leave. 

_ “Maman, would you like to came with us to our home? We could show in person the wonder of a television” _ Jean suggested.

_ “While I would want nothing more, there are some Flock matters I need to tend to. If the offer remains though, I would love to visit your home. Maybe next weekend, if possible? I could even bring Hermione some basic Veelan and Ancient Veelan books so she could start getting acquainted with our language.”  _ Came Celeste’s response.

_ “YES!”  _ Hermione said rather loudly, exited at the prospect of getting her hands in some books, no matter how ‘basic’ her grandmother claimed them to be. Realizing the looks she received from her outburst (exasperated from her mum, amused from her grandmother), seh continued, clearing her throat  _ “I mean, it would be great to see you next week grandmother, and if you really bring those books that would be great” _

Jean shook her head at her daughter’s antics, before answering her mum’s request.

_ “Actually, next weekend wouldn’t work for us. Robert, Mione and I are going on a fishing trip. Sorry.” _

_ “No problem, I understand… But, fishing?” _ Celeste said with barely concealed contempt.

_ “You don’t like fishing?” _ Hermione asked.

_ “Most Veelas don’t particularly like large bodies of water”  _ She shuddered lightly.

_ “Our Mione here is the exception, she loves swimming. In fact, if you want you can come with me pick her up from her swimming lesson this tuesday, that way we can see each other before our trip”  _ Jean suggested.

_ “ _ Likes _ swimming? Oh, dear.” _ Celeste asked as if it was an impossible notion for someone to ‘like’ swimming. But she guessed it was better she was there, at the very least to pull her granddaughter out of the water in case things go south. With her mind made up she agreed to go, and after setting a meeting place and time, the ladies said their goodbyes and left, each waiting expectantly the following tuesday.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tuesday arrives.  
Let me know what you guys think :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, I realized I posted the unedited unfinished version of this chap (sorry), so I'm reposting it.   
There's now an more complete end to the conversation between the Granger ladies and Celeste, nothing major, you guys don't have to reread the entire chap just for that, but I figured I'd post the correct version of it any way.  
The next chap will be posted within the next few days.   
The reason I haven't been posting lately is that I'm studying to try and became a lieutenat in my country and the test I've to take is known as the hardest test in my entire nation, so basically I've been studying like crazy this past few months.  
Thank you all for supporting this fic and being so amazing and patient with me, even when I don't post reading your comments give me the will to keep writing despite how exhausted I've been.   
Seriously, thank you.

_ “Things written like this are in French” _

“Things written like this are in english”

**Tuesday, 13 October 1987**

In a hidden alley, nearby a primary school a muffled pop could be heard, for the untrained ear such sound could be mistaken for noise of a car exhaust but Jean Granger knew better, without needing to turn from her spot by the alley entrance she greeted the newcomer.

_ “Hello, mother, did you have a nice trip?” _ She asked with an easy smile, feeling more comfortable with her mother's presence after their reunion the previous weekend.

_ “Jean, dear, portkey travel is many things but ‘nice’ is not one of them” _ Celeste answered with a roll of her eyes, after walking up to her daughter.  _ “Now, shall we rescue my granddaughter from this form of torture you call swimming lesson?” _

At that Jean’s smile turned into full blown laughter, which she tried to mask behind her hand (without much success if Celeste's unamused expression was anything to go by).

_ “Sorry, mother, I’m afraid I got a bit unused to your penchant for dramatics” _ She kept laughing softly to herself. Despite what she may have told herself these past few years without her mum, she actually missed her.

_ “Now, who are you calling dramatic?! I’ll have you know my concerns are rather valid! For all I know poor Hermione could be drawing in cold, all alone as we speak”  _ Celeste answered with a smile of her own. While a part of her was genuinely worried for her grandchild she knew Jean wouldn’t let any harm come to her, from what little she had observed of the girls interactions, she could already see the love and protectiveness emanating from her daughter towards Hermione. That said, it was nice to know she could still be responsible for putting a smile in her daughter’s face, even if unintentionally.

Catching on her mum’s playful mood Jean responded:

_ “Indeed, mother, those are some  _ very _ valid concerns. Why don’t we go inside so you can rescue your granddaughter from the mean, mean swimming instructor?” _

_ “I find that suggestion acceptable. Let’s go, darling!” _ Celeste smiled and started dragging her daughter down the sidewalk.

_ “Her school is in the other direction, mum” _ Jean informed.

_ “Oh, right. Maybe you should lead us then?” _

_ “Yeah, maybe I should.” _ Jean said, giggling softly, while directing them to Hermione.

It didn’t escape the deserted Veela the good mood her mother seemed to be in. Her last memories with her mum weren’t of this happy, easygoing woman; In fact, it seemed that the closer it got to her 17th birthday the more serious and withdrawn her mum got. Looking back on it now, Jean concluded such changes were caused for the increasing conflicts happening between her and Estelle the closer it got to her birthday, she knew having to watch her soulmate and fledgling fighting unstopped ought to take its toll on any Veela. 

Looking at the skip in her Mother step now Jean concluded it was a good thing to allow Celeste into their lives. Hermione deserved to know about her origins and Celeste deserved a chance to get to know her grandchild, afterall, no matter how partial Jean was about Estelle, she knew in her heart Celeste was going to be a good grandmother to her daughter.

_ “You seem to be deep in thoughts, Darling. Anything bothering you? I hope it was not my comments on Hermione’s lessons… I didn't mean to question your authority and I know you’d never allow her to come to harm, I was merely worried-”  _ Celeste interrupted her thoughts.

_ “Mother, no! Calm down. You didn’t offend me, or question my authority. I spent my entire childhood by your side, I’m used to your overprotectiveness by now.”  _ She said with an reassuring smile.

** _“_ ** _ Oh, good! May I ask what's on your mind then?” _

_“We are here,” _Jean said, going up the steps of a small building and opening the door for her mother _“Good afternoon, Carl.” _She greeted the security guard stationed by the door.

_ “And to answer your question, I was just thinking about how happy I am to have you in our lives now. I know it’s been less than a week but I’m happy to have you here”  _ She said, while she guided her mother through the school and towards the indoor swimming pool, avoiding eye contact at all costs. 

Listening to her daughter words Celeste stopped walking, a smile taking over her face (she felt like she smiled more today than she had for the past 16 years), with a gente tug at her daughter’s left arm she stopped her from opening a door leading to what she believed to be the pool. 

_ “I’m very glad to be in your lives too, love. In fact, that’s the best present you could’ve ever given me, another chance at loving you. I swear I won’t fail you this time, Jean. None of you.” _

_ “You didn’t fail me before, mum. Not really”  _ Feeling a few tears start to form in her eyes, Jean decided it was time to cut the conversation short. She knew they couldn’t fix 16 years of distance in one day, but she knew they were on the right path.  _ “But, uh, maybe we should go inside. I don’t think it’ll give Hermione too much of a good impression if I show up there with tear streams on my face”  _

_ “Yes, I suppose not.” _ Celeste agreed with a smile  _ “Let’s go” _

Sharing one last smile mother and daughter entered the pool area. 

The first thing Celeste noticed after entering the designated swimming area was those strange squares digged into the ground filled with water. While she was obviously not a stranger to the concept of bathtubs, her home had quite a few of those after all, it seemed rather odd to her that those muggles would choose to teach their fledglings how to swim in a combined bathtub as opposed to an actual lake, river or even the ocean.

The second thing she noticed was Hermione, carelessly swimming in the pool as if the thought of being surrounded by so much water was not worrying at all. But, then again the child didn’t seem to have anything to worry about from what Celeste could see, swimming around without the need to be auxiliated by the instructor like many of the other children needed. In fact, in the Veela’s humble opinion her grandchild was definitely among the best of her group.

While those swimming lessons had been a source of worry since she heard about them on saturday, right now she couldn’t deny the pride she felt swelling in her chest at watching her grandchild swim. Even if it was in an oversized, shared bathtub…

Her daughter seemed to sense her confusion, for she went to explain, while guiding them to the blenches to find a seat among the muggles already there.

_ “Those are swimming pools, mum. They are not designated for baths, but for recreational use or sports practice, usually pools are used by more than one person at a time. Muggles use them quite a bit, since without magic swimming in the winter outdoors would be close to impossible. Not to mention, pools are somewhat safer and more convenient than lakes and other natural bodies of water for they don’t have dangerous creatures, animals, or rocks lurking underneath.”  _

_ “Fascinating! I’ve done my fair share of reading about muggle culture as you know, but I’ve never found anything about swimming pools before”  _ Celeste said somewhat awestruck. 

As one of the leaders of their flock it was fundamental that she had a minimum knowledge of the most prominent races existing, it was part of her job to prepare the fledglings to the world after all.

_ “Well, I’m sure if you ask Hermione, she can recommend some books about swimming pools for you.” _ Jean said fondly, gazing at her daughter.

At that moment Hermione seemed to notice them, as her face lit up and she excitedly waved from the pool in their direction, waiting for both women to return the gesture before going back to swimming and allowing the ladies to go back to their conversation. 

_ “She is quite the bookworm, huh?”  _ Celeste asked with a look of fondness to match her daughter's.

_ “Sometimes I think there isn’t a subject in this world our Mione hasn’t read about. She is just too curious for her own good.” _

_ “I, for one, do not believe in ‘too curious’, one can never be too curious, knowledge is never too much.” _

_ “This is just your second day as her grandmother and you’re already taking her side, huh?”  _ Jean answered with a laugh.  _ “Besides, I figured this would be your answer, Mione had to take after someone…” _

_ “Young lady, I’ll have you know I’m no bookworm, I am merely a particularly knowledge seeking individual”  _ Celeste countered, doing her best to maintain a haughty expression but failing and matching her daughter’s laughter.  _ “And last time I checked I wasn’t the only bookworm in this family… Unless you’ve lost your passion for reading” _

_ “Never! I’m avid readers, even though I don’t read nearly as much as I did before Robert and I started our own practice.” _

_ “Yes, I’ve heard something about this, er, practice as you say it. Dentistry, is it?” _

_ “Yes, it is. I assume Estelle didn’t waste any time in researching my whole life” _ And just like that the amicable mood was gone and with it Jean Granger’s smile.

_ “I didn't mean to pry, love. I swear. And your mother was just worried, I know it’s no excuse to invade your privacy but-” _

So lost in their conversation neither woman realised Hermione's lesson ended until said girl came bouncing into their laps with a smile on her face, oblivious to the new tension in the air. 

“Hi, Mommy!” The girl greeted her mum, still dripping wet from the pool despite the towel wrapped loosely around her. Switching to french she looked at her grandmother and continued with the greetings.  _ “Hello, grandmother!” _

“Hey, baby, had fun today?” 

_ “Hello, Hermione.” _

“Uh huh, today I even got to help Julie again, she still can’t swim right without her floaters.”

“Floaters?” Celeste asked curiously. 

“Yeah, you know, those things kids place in their arms before getting inside the water if they don’t know how to swim. It’s usually made of plastic and you blow some air inside it to help you float.” The child eagerly responded.

“Muggles are pretty ingenious, huh?” Celeste said, shaking her head.

“How do Veelas teach their children to swim?”

Before Celeste had a chance to explain, she was interrupted by Jean:

“How about you change and  _ then  _ we can answer any questions you have, love? You are shaking”

Celeste and Hermione had equal pouts of disappointment at having to cut their conversation short but at that moment another shiver went down the child’s body and she quickly grabbed her bag to go change. 

As soon as Hermione left Jean took her mum’s hand, grabbing her attention.

_ “Look, I understand how it was never YOUR intention to disrespect my privacy, but you and me both know Mother doesn’t care about anything but her goals-” _

_ “That’s not true-” _

_ “Yes, it is! But this conversation won’t go anywhere like this. Just… Next time you wish to know something ask me, okay? Even if Mother has her research done about us, just ask ME… please.” _

_ “Of course, dear. And I’m truly sorry for making you feel like your privacy has been violated” _

They shared a small smile, before Jean caught sight of Hermione leaving the change room and got up from her seat. 

“Come on, let's go. She is probably bursting from all the questions she has.”

And so they both went to Hermione, each grabbing one hand as the three of them started walking towards where Jean had first left her car before going to meet with Celeste.

*******

The car ride from school to the Grangers Residence was filled with easy conversation, mostly between Hermione and Celeste. In fact, it would appear Hermione’s found a new favorite person in Celeste: the woman spent most of the ride asking everything and anything about cars, for while she was not unused to the  _ concept _ of cars it was her first time actually riding one, about the architecture she saw out of the window, about the movie theater they passed in front of, well, she asked a lot about  _ many _ things. And Hermione absolutely loved it. 

The girl was used to knowing a lot of things about different subjects, but it was usually a rarity that someone would be interested in hearing about it. And, sure, she knew her parents were always interested in what she had to say, but it was nice to have someone else to share her knowledge with.

Now, Mrs. Granger was parking the car inside their garage and the conversation had finally died down for a bit, allowing her to talk without interrupting her daughter’s ramblings about electronic gates.

_ “Mum, welcome to our home.” _

Celeste looked around the space, confusedly. The muggles must’ve had changed greatly since she last read about their living habits, because last she read about it they used beds, and bathrooms just like their kind. 

Realising she must’ve taken too long to say anything and not wanting to look like she was judging her daughter’s…  _ home, _ she decided to say something.

_ “Er, it looks lovely, darling… but I was under the impression muggle homes had beds too. Not that I’m judging or anything, jus-” _

Her daughter’s and granddaughter’s laughter interrupted her mumbling, so she assumed she might not have hidden her shock (and slight contempt) at their living situation as well as she hopes… At least they were laughing instead of taking offence, right?

_ “No, grandma”  _ Hermione explained amidst her giggles  _ “This is just our garage, we have beds and everything inside the actual house” _

_ “Right, of course” _ She mumbled, but hearing both her daughter and granddaughter laugh at her minor misconception made her roll her eyes, and leave the now parked car,  _ “You know, children who laugh at their grandmother’s don’t get books about Veelian, Hermione.” _

_ “What? But, but- Grandma!” _

Hermione was quick to go after her grandmother, followed by her mum who seemed to find this whole conversation just hilarious.

_ ‘There is nothing funny about not getting my books.’ _ The girl thought grumply. 

*******

After giving Celeste a brief tour of the house and a not so brief tour of Hermione’s room, since the girl just  _ had  _ to show her grandmother all her books and introduce her to Lyon, the stuffed snake her daddy got her four years ago on her birthday, the three women were sitting in the living room. The two adults were sipping the tea Jean made, while Hermione was drinking some grape juice and eating some home made, sugar free cookies, all of them fully engaged in some light conversation about the advantages of muggles' home phones.

Until there was a moment of silence in the conversation and Hermione decided to ask what had been on her mind since they got home.

_ “So, grandma, you were just kidding when you said I wouldn’t get those books right?”  _ The question was followed by the cutest smile she could muster, the one that usually got her out of trouble with her professors whenever something ‘weird’ happened around her.

_ “Hm… I don’t know, what do you think, Jean? Does she deserve them after making fun of her poor, old grandmother?” _

_ “I’m not sure…” _

_ “Come on, I didn’t mean it, Grandma”  _ Hermione whined. 

_ “Okay, okay, there is no need for that pout, darling” _ Celeste said, taking pity on the girl after just a few seconds of teasing, she could see herself wrapped around this little girl’s fingers in no time at all.  _ “Here, take your books” _

Celeste then, proceeded to take five different books from her magically extended handbag and gave them to her grandchild. At first she only meant to bring two simple books, filled with images and small phrases to help Hermione get aquanticed with their language, but while scrolling through their family’s personal library to gather them she found some of Jean’s favourite books as a child and couldn’t resist bringing those too. She had hoped her daughter would like to read those to Hermione as she did for her back when she couldn’t read.

_ “Those two here, are the ones to help you get acquainted with our alphabet and language. They are rather simple and have some useful scribbles in the margins from it’s previous owners.”  _ Celeste started explaining.

_ “Who were the owners?” _

_ “Well, it belonged to your grandmother, Estelle, and then when Jean grew older and started learning to read the book was passed on to her.” _

_ “Oh. That’s cool! What about those other three?” _

_ “Wait, is that ‘Jasmin, the curious Veela’?!”  _ Jean asked excitedly, moving to the edge of her seat to see the books that now laid in her daughter’s hand.  _ “And, ‘Sky, the dragon singer’?” _

_ “Uh, what?”  _ Hermione asked back confused. Those… symbols in the cover of the books were rather confusing, they looked more like gryphs than actual letters.

_ “Those are some of our classical children books, Hermione. Most Veelas and Veela descendents have grown up listening and, once they’ve learned how, reading those _ . _ These three I handled you, specifically, happened to be among your mother’s favourites in her childhood, she wouldn’t go to bed until I finished at least one of the stories in it.” _

_ “Really?”  _ She asked her mum. It’s weird to think of her mother as a child, even more so when her grandmother looked almost as old as her mum, but before she could voice her thoughts, she was interrupted by her mum talking to her.

_ “If you want I can read those to you until you get the hang of Veelian” _ Jean suggested, to be honest she actually missed reading for Hermione before bed. Her baby grew up so fast and was so smart, she just didn’t need her old lady around to read her bedtime stories from an early age.

_ “I would like that,” _ Hermione said with a smile.  _ “What is the third book, by the way? You only said the name of two” _

_ “Ah, it’s ‘Tales of Beedle, the bard’, this one is famous not only among Veelas but most of the magical world” _ her mum explained.

As Hermione glanced over the cover of the third book she realised it was written in french, so she guessed she would be able to read at least tha one on her own. Besides, it would be a great opportunity to improve her french reading, since she didn’t read books in french all that often.

_ “If you have any questions about the books feel free to contact me, Dear. I know your mother is just as apt to answer them but I’ll be always happy to help too.”  _ Celeste promised with a smile.

_ “Thank you, I will!” _ Hermione beamed, before frowning slightly  _ “But, I thought you didn’t have phone in your house, and letters will take forever to get from here to France and back” _

_ “Muggle mail would indeed take a while, and from the lack of an owlery in your home I assume you don’t have any owls?”  _ Celeste directed the second part at Jean.

_ “No, as you know muggles don’t use owls to communicate and it’s not like I’ve had any need to get in touch with the magical community until now” _

_ “Wait, what does owls have to do with anything?”  _ The half-veela asked upset at, for once, not being the person with all the answers in the room. She just hated not knowing things so much!

_“I guess we never covered magical means of communication_ _on our last talk” _Celeste mused and decided to take the reins of explaining this part of their society to Hermione started _“So, just like muggles, there are different ways for magical beings to communicate with one another. While each species will have its particularities the most common means of communication currently used are letters, floo powder and, in some places, one sided mirrors are starting to become rather popular. _

_ The letters are sent through owls, they are different from muggle owls though. The same way there are magical humans (or as we call them, wizards and witches) and muggles, there are also magical owls and, er, un-magical ones. Those magicals are the ones used for mail delivery since they have more stamina and intelligence overall. _

_ The Floo network is not only a way of communication between linked, registered houses but can also facilitate transportation. Basically, Floo powder is a magical powder that, when thrown in a fireplace will take the person inside it to the place they requested, as long as the fireplace they requested access to is linked into the Floo network. If the intention of the person using the powder is not to go somewhere else, but merely communicate with another they can use a smaller amount of the powder and send only a projection of themselves, in real time, to the wanted fireplace… And from your confusion, I assume your fireplace is not connected to the floo network” _

_ “er, no, I don’t think so.”  _ Hermione said looking at her mum for confirmation.

_ “We aren’t connected to the floo network, no.” _

_ “Hm, I see. In that case I guess you must be full of questions, dear”  _ Celeste glanced at Hermione, who had the most adorable concentrated look on her face.

_ “Yeah! Why owls? I mean if there are so many different magical beings, why pick owls to do the delivering? They seem rather boring. Also, why fireplaces? If the powder is magical shouldn’t it work wherever instead of just inside a fireplace. Besides-” _

_ “Alright, how about we let grandma answer one question a time, huh?”  _ Jean interrupted her when she realised her mother seemed content to just watch Hermione as she rambled on, and knowing her daughter she wouldn't stop until someone made her.

_ “Sorry” _ Hermione said with a bashful smile.

_ “No need to apologize, darling.”  _ Celeste winked. _ “To answer your questions, we chose owls because they are practical: flying means they can get to where they need to be faster, also the fact they are so common, or boring in your words, is another reason. No one cares when they see an owl flying around, it helps keep our world a secret from the muggles. After all, I imagine their reactions to see a dragon with a messenger bag would be much more... intense than to see some owls flying over their houses.” _

Hermione let out some giggles at the mental image of a dragon in a postman outfit flying around delivering mail all over London, interrupting her grandmother before gesturing for her to continue her explanation. 

_ “About your questions on the floo network, I’m afraid I’m not the best person to answer them. While I’ve read a lot about many things, Floo traveling was just never a particular interest of mine, sorry” _

_ “That’s okay,” _ Hermione said unconvincingly.

_ “How about next time we see each other I bring you a book about it” _

_ “I mean, you already gave so many…”  _ The girl answered, it was against every instinct she had to refuse books, but her parents had taught her manners and gratitude and she didn’t want to seem ungrateful for what she's got so far.

_ “And as long as you and your parents allow, I’ll give you much more. It  _ is _ a grandmother's duty to spoil her grandchild, after all.” _ Celeste informed with a smile, causing Hermione to look at her mother to check if that would be okay.

Jean smiled at that. While she would make sure to talk to her mother so Hermione didn't end up spoiled rotten, she also didn’t see the harm in gifting her with books, information and knowledge are never too much. Besides it was nice to see her mother’s affection towards Hermione.

_ “That’s okay, darling, just don’t get used to presents whenever your grandma comes to visit” _ Jean finally said.

_ “We’ll see about that”  _ Celeste answered playfully at the same time Hermione hissed a ‘yes!’ in celebration.

Before she could get carried away with the promise of a new book Hermione decided to ask about the last way of communication her grandmother mentioned but didn’t explain.

_ “What are one ways mirrors though? You never told me…” _

_ “Yes, I supposed we skipped that part, didn’t we? One way mirrors are still not overly common in our world. Mainly it’s being used by the magical community in the USA, Japan and some parts of magical german. They basically work like your television you told me about on our last meeting. One way mirrors are being currently used to broadcast sport events and sometimes news, depending on the country. And before you ask, no, I don’t know much about one way mirrors. I’ve only started looking them up after you told me about television and how important it’s to muggles, maybe one way mirrors will be as important to the magical community someday.” _ Celeste explained, since her talk with her granddaughter she had been researching those mirrors in her free time, thinking they might be a good investment if they become to wizards what television is to muggles. 

_ “Woah.”  _ Came the child’s awestruck response. “ _ But, how would we both talk if it's a one way mirror?” _

_ “I’d hear your call and come and visit most likely. They do have two way mirrors but they don’t transmit sounds, so it would definitely make communicating harder.” _

_ “How about we just agree to meet in two weeks from now? I’ll make sure to pick Mione again from her practice and we can see each other until we find a better way to keep communication going.”  _ Jean suggests finally after deliberating in her head and figuring this would be the best way to keep everyone happy until they found better ways to get in touch with one another.

Celeste quickly agreed, sizing her opportunity to spend more time with her daughter and granddaughter. The rest of the afternoon was spent peacefully, with Celeste and Jean explaining everything they could to Hermione whenever another question popped into her mind, which was all the time. 

By the time Robert was set to get home the Veela was already gone and the Granger girls were peacefully reading the gifted books cuddled together on the couch. 

**Friday, 16 October 1987**

“So, who is excited?!” Mr. Granger's voice boomed in the car, gathering the attention of the other occupants of the vehicle. 

“I am!” Came the simultaneous answer from a bouncing Hermione, sat in the backseat of the car and his lovely wife, sat by his side.

Robert was genuinely happy for the chance to spend time with his family, for the past few weeks he felt there was something going on and he hoped this impromptu family trip would clue him in to what was going on. 

He and Jean got an all inclusive reservation in this nice hotel in the Forest of Dean, gifted to them by a patient’s parents as a form of compensation after the boy bit Robert so hard he had to get stitches. The Grangers insisted there was no need for such a gesture, of course, but the boy’s parents owned a chain of hotels and wouldn’t take no for a answer so here the were, a little over an hour away from their destination in their cramped car listening to her Robert’s favourite singer, Elton John.

“Yeah? What do you guys want to do once we get there?”

“Stretch, maybe walk around in the woods for a little while” Said Jean.

“We could grave our initials on a tree, like in that movie!” Hermione exclaimed happily, unbelievably glad to be going to the middle of the woods.

“We definitely can do that, we will pick the biggest tree!” Robert promised.

“No, we shouldn’t just get some big tree, we have to pick one with the longest lifespan.” The girl explained patiently, leading Roberts and Jean to exchange an amused look, after all their daughter couldn’t possibly behave like a normal kid and just grave her initials on a tree, no, she had to find the ‘tree with the longest lifespan’ first.

“And do you have a tree in mind?” Jean asked.

“Yep, we should find the Old Tjikko, she is known worldwide as the tree with the longest lifespan. In the entire world!” 

“Right, the most ancient tree, how could I possibly forget.” Answered Robert with mirth that flew right over his daughter’s head. 

“And how do we find this tree, love?” Jean inquired.

“Well, she is usually found in Sweden but we can try our luck, right?”

“Of course we can, Mione” Robert reassured “but just in case we don’t find it, do you know any other tree worthy of having our initial carved into it?” 

“Uh huh, we can try finding the Llangernyw Yew, or the  Fortingall Yew, or the…” And so the girl filled the rest of their car drive sharing all the random knowledge she had on trees with her parents.

In a few years, when the hardships of life tried to take Hermione down, she would go back to this day: to the the sound of her parents voices as they chirped in as soft melody of ‘Your Song’ played in the background, to the smell of the woods getting in through their open windows, but mostly importantly she would go back to the feeling of being safe and completely and utterly loved.


End file.
